Association of nascent ribosomal ribonucleic acid with polyribosomes in Escherichia coli.

Sedimentation distributions of rapidly labeled ribonucleic acid (RNA) in extracts prepared from cells labeled for 60 s or less with [3H]uridine showed that the immature ribosome precursor particles themselves have an RNA precursor which sediments with polyribosomes and 70s ribosomes. In extracts prepared from cultures labeled for 30 s, the fraction of labeled RNA which did not sediment with polyribosomes was much less than the fraction which was ribosomal RNA (rRNA). Rapidly labeled RNA associated with polyribosomes had a nucleotide base composition consistent with the presence of rRNA, and was shown by RNA-deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization to contain 30 to 40% rRNA. Nascent rRNA is thus associated with polyribosomes during its transcription. The sedimentation distribution of rapidly labeled 16s and 23s rRNA showed that these molecules are separated during transcription and associated with different polyribosomes.