| Abstract: | Poly(adenylic acid) [poly(A)] containing cytoplasmic ribonucleic acid (RNA) in differentiating fetal calf myoblasts cultivated in vitro was examined by hybridization with radioactive poly(uridylic acid). The size distribution of the poly(A)-containing RNA after sucrose-gradient centrifugation was similar in cells before and after differentiation. There was no apparent correlation between the length of the poly(A) segment and the change in stability of messenger RNA which occurs on differentiation, nor with the polysomal or nonpolysomal localization of the RNA in the cytoplasm. The average length of the poly(A) segments in cytoplasmic RNA in the steady state was found to be dependent on the size of the RNA: the longer the RNA, the longer the average length of the poly(A) sequence. In contrast, in pulse-labeled RNa, the length of poly(A) is similar in all size classes of RNa. |
