Localization of 5 S RNA Genes on Drosophila Chromosomes by RNA-DNA Hybridization

Abstract
[3H]RNA with a high specific activity was prepared from larvae of Drosophila melanogaster grown 4 days in contact with [3H]uridine. Purified tritiated 5S RNA was annealed to the DNA of polytene chromosomes, which had been denatured in formamide. The 5S RNA genes are placed within the region 56E-F of the right arm of chromosome 2. This localization was determined from autoradiographs, where the radioactivity from hybrids of [3H]RNA and DNA was confined to the 56E-F segment.