Template capacity of mouse TLT hepatoma ghromatin fractions

Abstract

1. 1. Isolated mouse TLT hepatoma chromatin has no measurable protease activity, whereas some of the chromatin fragments separated on exclusion agarose columns possess endogenous RNA polymerase activity. 2. 2. The template capacity of the template active chromatin fractions is 5–50-fold greater than usual when measured using a portion of E. coli RNA polymerase, apparently modified by purification and aging. 3. 3. Any contaminating nuclease activity in partially-purified RNA polymerase had minimal modifying effects on template capacity; the addition of pancreatic DNase but not RNase essentially eliminates the template capacity of chromatin fractions. 4. 4. Under conditions avoiding chromatin aggregation, similar template capacity patterns of chromatin fractions are obtained when the RNA incorporation reaction is executed either prior to, or subsequent to, the fractionation of the sheared chromatin.