A New Method to Characterize the Translation Initiation Sites of Messenger Ribonucleic Acids

125 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1982.Incomplete mercuration of mRNAs followed by incomplete and controlled {('125)I}I('+) displacement of the mercury from the intermediate 5-mercuripyrimidine derivatives of the Hg-mRNAs generates {('125)I}mRNAs containing high and approximately equal specific activity ('125)I-label in both 5-{('125)I}iodouridylate and 5-{('125)I}iodocytidylate (i.e., {U,C-('125)I}mRNAs). Such {U,C-('125)I}RNAs retain their biological activity as judged by their ability to interact specifically and correctly with wheat germ 80S ribosomes in ribosome protection experiments. Further, use of such {U,C-('125)I}RNAs, along with 4 nucleotide base specific cleavage reactions, in quantitative two dimensional electrophoresis/homochromatography "fingerprint" analyses greatly facilitates one's ability to determine the RNA nucleotide sequence of the translation initiation sites of mRNAs.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD