RNA Synthesis in Peripheral Nerve in the Chick during Development

Abstract
The pattern of RNA synthesis was investigated in vitro in the sciatic nerve of the chicken. Nerve tissue from 14-day embryos, 17-day embryos, and 3-day chicks was incubated with [5-3H]-uridine for 0.5, 1.5, and 3.5 h. The RNA was isolated from the tissues and the purified preparations were fractionated by zone velocity centrifugation on sucrose gradients.The sedimentation properties of the rapidly labelled RNA changed in the three developmental stages. The proportion of the radioactivity in the light fractions of the RNA (5.8–17.2 S) increased with the age of the animals. In contrast, the specific activities of the heavy species decreased during nerve development. Pulse-chase experiments with unlabelled uridine and actinomycin D demonstrated the metabolic lability of the rapidly labelled RNA. The sedimentation properties of the pulse-labelled RNA of the cerebellum were the same in the three developmental stages.

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