Tritium sequence analysis of oligoribonucleotides: a combination of post-labeling and thin-layer chromatographic techniques for the analysis of partial snake venom phosphodiesterase digests.

A tritium derivative method for sequence analysis of polyribonucleotides is detailed, which is based on borotritide reduction of oligonucleotide-3' dialdehydes generated by controlled snake venom phosphodiesterase/alkaline phosphomonoesterase digestion and periodate treatment of time point aliquots of the incubation mixture. Radioactive oligonucleotide derivatives are resolved according to chain length by PEI-cellulose(1) anion-exchange TLC and their 3'-termini identified by techniques described in the preceding paper of this series(2). The present tritium derivative method is compared with the one described previously(2).