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Updated: Feb 7, 2026

Identification of RNA Fragments Resulting from Enzymatic Degradation using MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry
Published on: April 11, 2022
[Non-specific RNA degradation in the presence of magnesium ions]
Abstract:
RNA degradation catalyzed by Mg2+ was studied under the conditions of reverse transcriptase reaction. Agarose gel electrophoresis in 6 M urea was employed to follow the reaction. Natural ribosomal of poly(A)+ RNA as well as synthetic poly(rA) are equally accessible for degradation. Neither an RNAase nor alkali alone is responsible for the degradation. The reaction rate is directly proportional to Mg2+ concentration in the range of 1 to 10 mM, doesn't depend upon RNA concentration and enhances approximately 50 fold upon increasing of pH value from 7.5 to 9.0. It was concluded that the Mg2+ catalyzed degradation reaction is an unspecific one in respect to the primary structure of RNA. The results obtained are useful to optimize the conditions for the reverse transcriptase reaction.
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