Poly(A) polymerase in quail oviduct. Changes during estrogen induction.

A nuclear poly(A) polymerase has been isolated from oviducts of immature quails. It could be purified 4300-fold. The enzyme depends specifically on ATP as substrate and requires Mg2+. The most effective primer for the enzyme is a polynucleotide, isolated from oviduct tissue. A poly(A) sequence to a maximum of 60 AMP residues is covalently linked per primer molecule. The poly(A)-rich product of the enzymatic reaction can be annealed to oligo(dT)-cellulose. The purest fraction does not contain any detectable poly(A)-degrading enzyme activity. Only very low activities of RNA polymerase are present. The poly(A polymerase activity in the assay with ATP is reduced by the ATP analogue, beta, lambda-ATP-methylene-diphosphonate. Both K-m and V are lowered. The ATP analogue is incorporated to a smaller extent into the poly(A) sequence, synthesized by the enzyme. Several other analogues of adenine, adenine nucleosides and adenine nucleotides are without effect on the enzymatic reaction. By these properties poly(A) polymerase can be distinguished from RNA polymerases form I and form II, isolated from the same tissue. Actinomycin D and alpha-amanitin failed to inhibit poly(A) polymerase activity. The activity of poly(A) polymerase has been determined during primary stimulation with the estrogen analogue diethylstilbestrol (daily injection for 5 days), after withdrawal of the hormone for 17 days and after secondary stimulation with the hormone analogue. The enzyme activity does not change during primary stimulation, withdrawal of the hormone or secondary stimulation. However the activity of a poly(A) degrading enzyme, localized in the nucleus, is reduced in oviducts from hormone-treated quails.