Preparative gel electrophoresis of liver polyribosomal RNA

By the use of a combination of sucrose density gradient centrifugation and low-percent polyacrylamide gel preparative electrophoresis, we have isolated RNA species associated with rat liver polyribosomes and especially that of the 40S ribosomal subunit. Because of the high resolution of preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, it was found necessary to incorporate 0.5% sodium dodecyl sulfate into the electrophoresis buffer to eliminate artifacts that arise from aggregation of RNA species. This technique would allow the study of subtle changes in presumptive mRNA synthesis and template efficacy in various systems.