RNA-SYNTHESIS IN ISOLATED-NUCLEI - INVITRO INITIATION OF ADENOVIRUS-2 MAJOR LATE MESSENGER-RNA PRECURSOR

The authors analyzed the RNA produced in vitro by incubating nuclei from HeLa cells infected with adenovirus serotype. The results show that adenovirus-specific RNA is produced at a linear rate for up to 2.5 hr. Hybridization analysis of RNA produced in nuclei isolated 18 hr after infection indicated that transcription begins at the 'late promotor' at map position 16.5. Sequence analysis of the 5' termini of the in vitro transcripts showed that this system initiates RNA chains de novo at the correct promoter and that the 5' terminus is capped.