Strand-selective transcription of globin genes in rabbit erythroid cells and chromatin

In order to investigate the symmetry of globin gene transcription, complementary RNA (cRNA) was synthesized using rabbit globin complementary DNA (cDNA) as a template for Escherichia coli DNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RNA nucleotidyltransferase). The cRNA hybridized specifically to its own cDNA template but not to sheep cDNA, rabbit globin mRNA, or poly(dT). Hybridization studies with cRNA demonstrated that RNA sequences transcribed from the DNA strand complementary to the globin gene region (anti-strand) were not present in cellular, total nuclear, or fractionated nuclear RNA from rabbit marrow. Such sequences were detected in RNA transcribed from rabbit marrow chromatin by E. coli or sheep liver RNA polymerases, but amounted to less than 50% of the globin mRNA sequences present in the same transcript. The evidence indicates that globin mRNA transcription is predominantly DNA strand specific.