The presence of ribonucleic acid in the cell walls of higher plants.
A method for isolating extensively purified cell walls from higher plants is described; the preparations contain no detectable chloroplast or nuclear material and the protein content (2-5% of the dry wt. of walls) indicates that there is little contamination with cytoplasm. Incubation of purified cell walls with 0.3n-potassium hydroxide for 17hr. at 37 degrees liberates ribonucleotides, which can be purified by adsorption on charcoal and by ion-exchange chromatography. Ribonucleotides are also liberated by incubating the walls with ribonuclease, but not with deoxyribonuclease. The RNA content varies from 0.5 to 6mg./g. dry wt. of walls, depending on the nature and age of the tissue, and at 3mg./g. dry wt. of walls accounts for about 7% of the total RNA of the tissue. Less than 0.2% of the RNA of the walls is due to the presence of bacteria in the preparation. The base composition of the cell-wall RNA is identical with that of ribosomal RNA.
D000367:Age Factors; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000378:metabolism; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D006878:Hydroxides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008722:Methods; D009711:Nucleotides / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D010636:Phenols; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*; D012313:RNA / Q000378:metabolism*; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D012270:Ribosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D013053:Spectrophotometry
D006878:Hydroxides; D009711:Nucleotides; D010636:Phenols; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D002734:Chlorophyll; D012313:RNA