Regulation of the nucleolar DNA-dependent RNA polymerase by amino acids in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells.

Experiments were performed to ascertain the degree to which the amount of amino acids might be one of the regulatory factors that control the activity of the nucleolar RNA polymerase. Assays of the enzymatic activity were done with isolated nuclei from cells incubated with low and high concentrations of amino acids. Soon after the cells were exposed to a medium enriched in amino acids, a rapid increase of nucleolar RNA polymerase activity occurred. A similar result was obtained in cells incubated with lower concentrations of amino acids. However, the rate of ribosomal RNA synthesized was regularly much higher in cells incubated in a medium enriched with amino acids than in a medium low in amino acids. Apparently, the amino acids only controlled ribosomal RNA synthesis. Thus, neither maturation, processing, and transport of nuclear precursors into cytoplasmic ribosomal RNA, nor the synthesis of rapidly labeled RNA was affected.