The control of ribonucleic acid synthesis in bacteria. The synthesis and stability of ribonucleic acids in relaxed and stringent amino acid auxotrophs of Escherichia coli

The biosynthesis and stability of various RNA fractions was studied in RC^str and RC^rel multiple amino acid auxotrophs of Escherichia coli. In conditions of amino acid deprivation, RC^str mutants were labelled with exogenous nucleotide bases at less than 1% of the rate found in cultures growing normally in supplemented media. Studies by DNA–RNA hybridization and by other methods showed that, during a period of amino acid withdrawal, not more than 60–70% of the labelled RNA formed in RC^str mutants had the characteristics of mRNA. Evidence was obtained for some degradation of newly formed 16S and 23S rRNA species to heterogeneous material of lower molecular weight. This led to overestimations of the mRNA content of rapidly labelled RNA from such methods as simple examination of sucrose-density-gradient profiles. In RC^rel strains the absolute and relative rates of synthesis of the various RNA fractions were not greatly affected. However, the stability of about half of the mRNA fraction was increased in RC^rel strains during amino acid starvation, giving kinetics of mRNA labelling and turnover that were identical with those found in either RC^str or RC^rel strains inhibited by high concentrations of chloramphenicol. Coincidence hybridization techniques showed that the mRNA content of amino acid-starved RC^str auxotrophs was unchanged from that found in normally growing cells. In contrast, RC^rel strains deprived of amino acids increased their mRNA content about threefold. In such cultures the mRNA content of accumulating newly formed RNA was a constant 16% by wt.