Strand assignment of polyadenylated nuclear RNAs synthesized early in infection with adenovirus 2

Abstract

Regions of the adenovirus 2 genome coding for early cytoplasmic RNAs also specify polyadenylated nuclear RNAs larger than the cytoplasmic RNAs [Craig, E. A., and Raskas, H. J. (1976). Cell 8, 205–213]. These large polyadenylated nuclear RNAs were analyzed further by hybridization studies with unique viral DNA fragments generated by digestion with endo R· Eco R1, endo R·H indIII, and endo R· Sma I. Hybridization-inhibition experiments were performed with 3H-labeled nuclear RNA fractionated by size. The results demonstrated that the larger nuclear RNAs are derived from the same DNA strand as the cytoplasmic RNAs and that they contain most if not all the sequences present in cytoplasmic RNAs. Hybridization of the larger polyadenylated nuclear RNAs transcribed from the l strand of Eco R1-C and the r strand of Eco Rl-D was inhibited approximately 80% by cytoplasmic RNA; hybridization of RNA from the l strand of Eco R1-B was inhibited only 50% by cytoplasmic RNA. From the molecular weights of these nuclear RNAs and the results of the hybridization-inhibition studies, it appears that these nuclear RNAs contain from 600 to 2300 nucleotides which are not detected in cytoplasmic RNA.