Half‐Life of sRNA from Primary Roots of Zea mays. A Contribution to the Cytokinin Production

Abstract
Roots produce cytokinins, which could be generated from the catabolism of transfer RNA. To prove such a hypothesis, the half‐life of sRNA from primary roots of corn was measured. The shortest half‐life was estimated to be 3 days. Depending on growth, cells at the root tips are “moving” out of the growing region and become differentiated cells. Therefore the highest label at the root tip during the pulse incubation is moving backwards during the chase incubation. Prolonged chase increases the half‐life of sRNA successively, possibly due to decreasing metabolic activities of the originally labeled cells.