Invertase messenger ribonucleic acid in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Kinetics of formation and decay.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae -136ts (Hutchison, H.T., Hartwell, L.H. and McLaughlin, C.S. (1969) J. Bacteriol. 99, 807-814) incubated in the presence of maltose at 23 degrees C (permissive temperature) synthesized the RNA messengers which codify derepressed invertase (an external mannoprotein) and induced alpha-glucosidase (a non-glycosylated internal enzyme). The enzymes were not synthesized if the mutant was transferred to the maltose-containing medium at the moment of incubation at 37 degrees C indicating that the cells had no pools of the specific RNA messengers and that transcription of the DNA was a prerequisite to enzyme synthesis. Cycloheximide inhibited syntheses of the enzymes both at 37 and at 23 degrees C suggesting that the enzymic activities were the result of "de novo" synthesis of the proteins and did not result from the activation of proenzymes. In derepressed cells the number of invertase mRNA molecules is probably larger than that actually being translated. The half-life of the derepressed invertase mRNA was calculated from the moment that the molecules of RNA messenger were limiting the enzyme synthesis and a value of 30-35 min was estimated. The value found for the basal (repression independent) invertase mRNA was of 45-50 min. The half-life of alpha-glucosidase mRNA was computed following the mathematical procedure described in the Appendix, and a value of 23 min was obtained. These results are consistent with the existence of relatively long-lived RNA messengers involved in the synthesis of extracellular macromolecules.