Chain Termini of the Satellite RNA from Yeast Ribosomes
(1) When yeast cells are extracted with aqueous phenol and the aqueous phase is made 2.5 M with respect to NaCl at 0°, there is selective precipitation of about 80% of the total RNA. The 17 S and 26 S RNA from yeast ribosomes comprise a preponderant mass-fraction (ca. 90%) of this NaCl-insoluble RNA. A small amount (ca. 3%) of a rapidly migrating electrophoretic component (iRMEC) can be released by aqueous denaturation of yeast NaCl-insoluble RNA (iRNA), and because it forms a specific complex with 26 S RNA, this iRMEC component can be appropriately described as a "satellite" of 26 S RNA.(2) Following its release by aqueous denaturation of yeast NaCl-insoluble RNA, the satellite RNA has been subjected to end-group analysis, and it has been found to have a formal structure that is based on a repeating 5′-mononucleotide unit, i.e. (pN)n, where n = 160–200. On the basis of an analysis of its principal termini, the dominant form of the satellite RNA is[Formula: see text](3) In an allied study, a "rapidly labelled" fraction of yeast NaCl-insoluble RNA has been subjected to aqueous denaturation and end-group analysis.