The identification by affinity chromatography of the rat liver ribosomal proteins that bind to elongator and initiator transfer ribonucleic acids.

Mixed yeast elongator-tRNAs (bulk tRNA lacking fRNAm,fMet), pure isoaccepting species of elongator-tRNAs (tRNAmMet and tRNAPhe), and purified initiator-tRNA (tRNAfMet) were each oxidized with periodate and the 3' terminus was coupled to Sepharose 4B through an adipic acid dihydrazide spacer. The rat liver ribosomal proteins that associated with the tRNAs were isolated by affinity chromatography and identified by electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels. The rat liver ribosomal proteins that were bound to the elongator-tRNA preparations were L6, L35a, and S15; small amounts of a number of other proteins also associated with the nucleic acid. When initiator-tRNA (tRNAfMet) was immobilized on Sepharose, only L6 and L35a were bound; no 40 S subunit proteins associated with initiator-tRNA. No Escherichia coli proteins formed a complex with either eukaryotic initiator- or elongator-tRNAs.