The metabolic characteristics of nucleolar, chromosonal, and cytoplasmic ribonucleic acid of Drosophila salivary glands.

Incorporation and retention of adenine-8-C(14) and of P(32)O(4) by nucleolar, chromosomal, and cytoplasmic RNA have been studied. Radioisotope concentrations were determined from autoradiographs, by grain counting, and RNA concentrations by microphotometry after basic staining. The relation between rates of RNA accumulation and rates of adenine incorporation was used to determine if synthesis was used to replace RNA which was lost from a fraction, and to obtain estimates of turnover rate. Nucleolar incorporation patterns indicate its incorporation is independent of growth, and there is complete turnover of the fraction in an hour or less. Nucleolar turnover is attributed to degradation of RNA within the nucleolus rather than to movement of intact molecules from the nucleolus. Chromosomal RNA reaches a much lower maximum specific activity than nucleolar, and a slightly higher maximum than cytoplasmic RNA. It showed faster incorporation than cytoplasmic RNA while accumulating RNA at the same rate as the cytoplasm, suggesting chromosomal RNA turnover. No evidence of cytoplasmic RNA turnover was found: rate of incorporation and rate of growth were correlated, and retention studies detected no decrease in amount of RNA-C(14), RNA-P(32), or RNA. Different ultimate precursors are indicated for nucleolar and non-nucleolar RNA by the observation that the nucleolar precursor is labeled before the precursor of non-nucleolar RNA.