[Ribosomal RNA synthesis in the kinetoplasts of 2 species of Crithidia].

A study was made of the possibility of ribosomal RNA synthesis in kinetoplasts of two crithidian species--C. oncopelty and C. fasciculata. The RNA synthesized by isolated kinetoplasts in sucrose gradients was resolved into the following five fractions; 23S, 16S, 12S, 9S and 6--4S. Since pure kinetoplast ribosomes contain 23S and 16S RNA, a supposition was made that the first two transcripts might be ribosomal RNAs. It is suggested that the kinetoplast DNA contains genes for rRNAs and that the synthesis of these RNAs occurs in the kinetoplast.