Affinity chromatography of Drosophila melanogaster ribosomal proteins to 5S rRNA

The binding of Drosophila melanogaster ribosomal proteins to D. melanogaster 5S rRNA was studied using affinity chromatography of total ribosomal proteins (TP80) on 5S rRNA linked via adipic acid dihydrazide to Sepharose 4B. Ribosomal proteins which bound 5S rRNA at 0.3 M potassium chloride and were eluted at 1 M potassium chloride were identified as proteins 1, L4, 2/3, L14/L16, and S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Using poly A-Sepharose 4B columns as a model of non-specific binding, we found that a subset of TP80 proteins is also bound. This subset, while containing some of the proteins bound by 5S rRNA columns, was distinctly different from the latter subset, indicating that the binding to 5S rRNA was specific for that RNA species.