A COMPLEX OF ENZYMATICALLY SYNTHESIZED RNA AND TEMPLATE DNA

Abstract
The in vitro synthesis of RNA catalyzed by purified DNA-dependent RNA polymerase from E coli has been studied for the purpose of finding the complex between nascent RNA and its template DNA. The results of this study can be summarized as follows (1) The complex can be isolated as a stable structure, consisting of DNA, RNA, and the polymerase, by zone sedimentation. (2) Most of the RNA remains bound to the DNA even at the end of the reaction. (3) The complex can be dissociated into free DNA and free RNA by detergent. (4) The RNA molecules grow slowly, at a rate of 2-3 nucleotides per second to a final molecular weight of 2 x 106. (5) The number of nascent RNA molecules is constant through the reaction: the synthesis of all RNA molecules starts during the first minutes of incubation, and during the rest of the reaction these molecules grow in size.

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