Chemical modification as a tool for analysis of messenger RNA secondary structure in ribonucleoprotein particles.

Chemical modification of unpaired bases is demonstrated in this study to be a reliable method for determining the conformation of nucleotides in mRNA. The modified nucleotides are identified by primer extension using reverse transcriptase. We have used this procedure to compare the structure of limited regions of SV40 T-antigen mRNA in solution, in nonpolysome-bound cytoplasmic messenger ribonucleoprotein particles, and in nuclear ribonucleoprotein complexes. The results indicate that SV40 T-antigen mRNA adopts a specific structure both in solution and when complexed with cellular proteins. The structures adopted by the mRNA in solution and in native cellular protein particles are very similar.