Wheat-Embryo Ribonucleates. IV. Factors That Influence the Formation and Stability of a Complex Between 5S rRNA and 18S rRNA

Abstract

Under the conditions used in this study, wheat-embryo 5S rRNA complexes with its homologous 18S rRNA from wheat embryos and with heterologous 18S rRNA from other eukaryotic source materials such as yeast, L cells, and HeLa cells, but it does not complex with heterologous 16S rRNA from a prokaryote such as Escherichia coli or with homologous or heterologous 26S(23S) rRNA of either eukaryotic or prokaryotic origin.If a solution of wheat-embryo rRNA is simply made 0.3 M with respect to NaCl and then heated at 60 °C for 3 min before quick cooling to room temperature (ca. 20 °C), there is both preferential and efficient complex formation between 5S and 18S rRNA and between 5.8S and 26S rRNA.The laboratory-prepared' complex between wheat-embryo 5S rRNA and its homologous 18S rRNA is more thermostable in 0.1 M NaCl solution than is the 'natural' complex between wheat-embryo 5.8S rRNA and its homologous 26S rRNA, and both complexes 'melt' over a narrow range of temperature.The possible physicochemical and physiological importance of both homologous and heterologous rRNA complexes is the subject of a brief discussion.