Oligodeoxynucleotide stability in subcellular extracts and culture media.

Oligodeoxynucleotide degradation was studied in four systems in order to assess the importance of degradation in hybridization arrest experiments dependent on oligodeoxynucleotides complementary to mRNA sequences. Oligodeoxynucleotides were not detectably degraded over 2 h at 37 degrees C in rabbit reticulocyte lysate or Dulbecco's modified essential medium with 5% fetal calf serum, but were degraded over 2 h in HeLa cell postmitochondrial cytoplasmic extract, and were degraded within 15 min in bovine calf serum.