Isolation and partial characterization of Japanese quail oviduct mRNAs

The total mRNA was prepared from laying quail oviduct and, after denaturation with dimethyl sulphoxide and glyoxal, characterized by agarose gel electrophoresis. The electrophoresis showed that the preparation contains physically homogeneous molecules of mRNAs, which migrate as discrete bands. The molecular weights of four major oviduct mRNAs coding for conalbumin, ovalbumin, ovomucoid, and lysozyme were determined. The biological activity of mRNAs was assayed in a cell-free translation system derived from rabbit reticulocytes. One of the translation products, ovalbumin, was proved by immunoprecipitation.