In vitro translation of the long-lived messenger ribonucleic acid of dry seeds

The total RNA extracted from rye embryos (Secale cereale) and seed of the broad bean (Vicia faba), pea (Pisum sativum) and oil-seed rape (Brassica napus) exhibits low levels of template activity when incubated in a wheat-germ cell-free protein-synthesising system. The RNA from pea, rapeseed and rye embryos was fractionated by chromatography on oligo dT-cellulose columns. Most of the template-active RNA bound to the column at high ionic strength, indicating that it is polyadenylated. The remainder would not bind, even when passed through the column several times. The proteins synthesised in vitro from the template-active RNA migrated as numerous bands in polyacrylamide gels and ranged in molecular weight from 10,000 to 70,000. The banding patterns obtained were quite different for the three species of seed tested. It is concluded that dry seeds contain a store of intact, long-lived mRNA.