| Abstract: | 1. The RNA polyadenylating activity was found in embryo axes of dry, as well as imbibed and germinated pea seeds, both in nucleus and cytoplasm. 2. The total enzymatic activity remains unchanged during germination, but the intracellular distribution is altered; the activity in nuclei is increased about four-fold at the expense of the postmitochondrial fraction. 3. Specificity towards RNA primers of the polyadenylating system from pea embryo axes is low. 4. Cordycepin inhibits RNA polyadenylation only when 14C]ATP is used as a nucleotide donor, and has no visible influence on the activity of the system utilizing 14C]oligo(A)-nucleotides. 5. It seems that RNA in the pea embryo axes is polyadenylated by a two-step mechanism: synthesis of oligo(A)-nucleotides, and their addition to RNA. |
