Evidence for a nuclease in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that affects the cell-free translation of natural messenger RNA.

A postpolysomal extract of $\text{Saccharomyces}\text{cerevisiae}$, treated with micrococcal nuclease to remove endogenous mRNAs, translates exogenous natural and synthetic mRNA templates actively and accurately at 20°C. When the temperature of incubation is 30°C or higher, protein synthesis with yeast poly(A)⁺ mRNA is markedly reduced, but synthesis of polyphenyl-alanine with poly (U) is only slightly affected. The protein synthesizing activity of the extract is decreased 50% in 30 minutes at 37°C, while the ability of yeast mRNA to template for protein synthesis is decreased 50% in 5 to 7 minutes when it is incubated with the postpolysomal fraction at 37°C. The release of radioactivity from isotopically-labeled yeast mRNA, into the acid-soluble form, is also much greater at 37°C than at 20°C. Thus, at the elevated temperatures, the loss of mRNA templating activity and RNA hydrolysis occur more rapidly than the loss of activity of the translational apparatus. The evidence suggests that the failure of the extract to catalyze translation at 30°C or higher, as compared to 20°C, is due to a temperature-stimulated nuclease that degrades mRNA.