Effect of ribosomal loading on the structural stability of bacteriophage T7 early messenger RNAs.

The $\text{in vivo}$ structural stabilities of the T7 early mRANs were measured and found to vary according to whether chloramphenicol or puromycin were added before or after infection with phage T7. These antibiotics had little effect upon messenger stability when they were added prior to infection. When chloramphenicol (but not puromycin) was added after completion of T7 early mRNA synthesis, the structural stability of the messages was enhanced. Messages which are inefficiently translated $\text{in vivo}$ due to altered 5′-termini were not stabilized by the late addition of chloramphenicol. We interpret these results to mean that ribosomal protection of the T7 early mRNAs is responsible for the increase in messenger structural stability in the presence of chloramphenicol.