Identification of procollagen mRNAs transferred to diazobenzyloxymethyl paper from formaldehyde agarose gels.

Poly A containing RNA isolated from embryonic chick calvaria was transferred from 6% formaldehyde 0.75% agarose gels to diazobenzyloxymethyl paper and the paper then hybridized to either nick translated pro alpha 1 collagen cDNA clones, pCg1 or pCg54, or to the nick translated pro alpha 2 collagen cDNA clone, pCg45. From the mobilities of the bands hybridizing most strongly to each, pro alpha 2 collagen mRNA was shown to be slightly larger than pro alpha 1 mRNA; they are 5100 and 4900 nucleotides long respectively. pCg54 also hybridized weakly to two bands of lower mobility, corresponding to RNAs 6.4 and 5.6 kb long. Neither pCg54 nor pCg45 hybridized to type II procollagen mRNA in poly A containing RNA isolated from embryonic chick sterna.