Nuclear ribonucleoprotein complexes of amphibian liver. I. Characterization of the complex and its small molecular weight RNA moiety.

Nuclear RNA-protein complexes containing small molecular weight RNAs were isolated from hepatic nuclei of Rana catesbeiana tadpoles and frogs according to a procedure normally used for the isolation of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein complexes from other eukaryotic tissues. Preliminary characterization of the tadpole nuclear RNP indicated a particle size of 50--70 S in sucrose density gradients and a buoyant density of 1.40 gm/ml in CsCl gradients. When analyzed on SDS-polyacrylamide gels, this complex was observed to contain at least 40 polypeptides ranging in molecular weight from 15,000 to 200,000. Nuclear RNA-protein complexes were also isolated from adult frog hepatic nuclei by the same protocol and the RNA moiety which had been purified from the frog complex was compared with the nuclear RNA isolated from the tadpole particles. Electrophoretic analysis of the nuclear RNA-protein-associated RNA revealed minor qualitative and quantitive differences in the more than 25 discrete bands (4--9 S) associated with each particle. Base analysis of tadpole and frog nuclear RNA revealed a nucleotide composition of approximately 50% adenosine plus uridine nucleotides, with an unusually high content of cytosine residues (approximately 30%). Comparison of the two RNA samples demonstrated a large increase in the adenosine content of frog unclear RNA, and the presence of a minor base in frog nuclear RNA which was absent in the tadpole sample. These results indicated that changes in the RNA content of the amphibian nuclear RNP complex had occurred during bullfrog development.