TRANSCRIPT FROM A DNA PUFF OF RHYNCHOSCIARA AND ITS MIGRATION TO THE CYTOPLASM

Electrophoretic analysis of 3H-RNA obtained from the proximal sections of Rhynchosciara salivary glands at two distinct developmental periods, one characterized by the presence and the other by the absence of the giant B-2 DNA puff, revealed that the appearance of a 14S poly(A)+ RNA is correlated with the opening of this puff. That this RNA species is transcribed from this puff is indicated by the fact that it is found in RNA extracted from B-2 puffs obtained by microdissection. This is confirmed by the specific hybridization of the 14S poly(A)+ RNA to the B-2 locus. Our data indicate that the polyadenylation process takes place at the chromosome level, and that the nuclear sap is not an important compartment in the transport of polyadenylated RNA from the chromosome to the cytoplasm. The kinetics of migration of the 14S species to the cytoplasm were studied; the data indicate that this process is very rapid and, in addition, that the 14S RNA is unstable. © 1979.