Polyadenylate-containing RNA in dormant and germinating Botryodiplodia theobromae pycnidiospores.

Hybridization of [3H]polyuridylic acid to RNA isolated from Botryodiplodia theobromae pycnidiospores yielded an estimate of about 6.25 x 10(5) polyadenylate-containing RNA (poly A(+) RNA) molecules per dormant spore. The number increased about fourfold by the time of germ tube emergence at 3 h. The average size of this presumed mRNA was about 4.1 x 10(5) daltons (1275 nucleotides), with an average polyadenylate segment length of 26 nucleotides. Neither of these values changed significantly during germination. The earliest detectable (first 30 min of germination) de novo synthesized mRNA's were rapidly incorporated into polyribosomes. This newly synthesized, presumably functional, mRNA was composed of both poly A(+) RNA and polyadenylate-lacking RNA. The average sizes of the two polyribosomal mRNA subpopulations and the total poly A(+) RNA population were identical.