Deoxyribonucleic acid-dependent ribonucleic acid polymerases from spleen of uninfected and Rauscher murine leukemia virus-infected NIH Swiss mice.?

The RNA polymerase activities from the nuclei of the spleen of uninfected and Rauscher murine leukemia virus-infected NIH Swiss mice were resolved by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography, and their properties were compared. The RNA polymerase activities from infected and uninfected spleens were the same with respect to column elution profiles, optimum requirements for various salts, ratios of activities with Mn2+ and Mg2+, sedimentation values, and response to most templates. With the exception of minor differences in activities with certain DNA templates, the significance of which is not clear, no qualitative differences in the enzymes from these two sources were found, but an increase in the specific activity of the alpha-amanitin sensitive enzyme, RNA polymerase II, was found in the leukemic spleen. These preliminary results suggest that there may be no novel RNA polymerase induced by Rauscher murine luekemia virus-infection, and they are in keeping with the interpretation that the viral DNA genome is transcribed by a host RNA polymerase.