Translation of polyuridylic acid in lysed mitochondria

After osmotic shock with 50 mM Tricine buffer (pH 7.9), isolated mitochondria from D. Melanogaster embryos are treated with a low concentration of Triton X-100 (25 micrograms/mg of protein). The lysed mitochondria are still capable of RNA and protein synthesis. While incorporation of labeled precursor is often higher in lysed than in intact mitochondria, neosynthesized proteins exhibit similar electrophoretic patterns. Studies of labeled precursor incorporation in the presence of various effectors indicate a better accessibility to the translation machinery in lysed mitochondria than in intact mitochondria. Such a system has proven capable of translating an exogenous synthetic mRNA, i.e., poly (U).