Oligouridylate stretches in heterogeneous nuclear RNA

Three classes of heterogeneous nuclear RNA (HnRNA) alpha, beta, and gamma, with different chemical and physical properties, can be identified in the early sea urchin embryo by hybridization with poly(U). The relative amounts of these classes vary as a function of embryonic development. It is demonstrated here that the adenyl-containing classes of HnRNA, alpha and beta, can be subfractionated by hybridization with poly(A)-agarose into species containing and lacking oligo(U)-enriched segments. These oligo(U) segments could not be detected in gamma HnRNA, which was previously shown to also lack adenylate segments. The relative proportions of these species undergo marked changes during development from early blastula (7 hr) to mesenchyme blastula (20 hr). I propose models to explain the possible effects of complementary sequences of adenylate and uridylate on the secondary structure of HnRNA, and speculate on the functional significance of such complexes.