Abstract
Summary
Phenol extracted RNA, unlike other preparations, is less soluble than DNA in aqueous-alcohol mixtures. Further, the RNA so prepared is associated with a high molecular weight polyglucose (CHO). These components were separated by acid precipitation and their solubility determined separately and in reconstituted mixtures. RNA, free of CHO, remains largely precipitable with 20% ethanol. Isolated CHO precipitates from 20% ethanol only upon addition of RNA which can effect the precipitation of six times its weight of CHO. Denatured fractions of RNA, soluble under these conditions, also precipitate in the presence of CHO. Despite the interaction of these macromolecules in solution, the unusual solubility properties of phenol extracted RNA seem to be a consequence of its native state rather than the presence of CHO.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.