Comparison of oligonucleotides produced by RNase T1 digestion of 7 S RNA from avian and murine oncornaviruses and from uninfected cells

Abstract

The 7 S RNA molecules isolated from Rous sarcoma virus (RSV), avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV), mouse sarcoma virus (MSV), and L cell virion (LCV) were treated with RNase T1, and the oligonucleotides produced were fractionated by two-dimensional electrophoresis. The 7 S RNAs from RSV and AMV yield identical fingerprints. Thirty-five oligonucleotides are observed in yields greater than 0.5 mole per mole RNA, and the molecules consist of about 280 nucleotides. LCV and MSV 7 S RNAs show a difference of two oligonucleotides of a total of 37. Comparison of avian and murine 7 S RNAs also shows a large number of similarities, including the 3′ terminus (U 4C 2)X OH. The results indicate that large portions of the sequence of 7 S oncornavirus RNAs have been conserved among viruses that replicate in different hosts. Analysis of 7 S RNA from uninfected chick fibroblasts demonstrates that they contain the same molecule as that found in AMV and RSV.