Abstract
IN recent years an increasing number of varied biological activities have been found associated with highly purified DNA. It is of some importance, in interpreting the effects of DNA on biological systems, to determine quantitatively the RNA content of such DNA preparations. Unfortunately, at the present time there is no generally accepted standard procedure to estimate small amounts of RNA in the presence of high concentrations of DNA. The orcinol method1,2, as is well known, gives falsely high RNA values because DNA itself reacts with the reagent to a limited extent. We have tested a variety of reported modifications of this orcinol procedure and have found them unsatisfactory. They have produced results indicating the presence of 5β10 per cent βRNAβ in DNA preparations containing no demonstrable uracil after acid hydrolysis and paper chromatography (<3 per cent RNA). Therefore, a simple, rapid method, used successfully in this laboratory to estimate RNA content, appears to be worth reporting.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Mejbaum, W., Z. Physiol. Chem., 258, 117 (1939).
Albaum, H. G., and Umbreit, W. W., J. Biol. Chem., 167, 369 (1947).
Ogur, M., and Rosen, G., Arch. Biochem., 25, 262 (1950).
Zamenhof, S., in Methods in Enzymology, edit. by Colowick, S. P., and Kaplan, N. O., 3, 696 (New York: Academic Press, Inc., 1957).
Savitsky, J. P., Amer. J. Physiol., 197, 1359 (1959).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
SAVITSKY, J., STAND, F. A Simple Method for measuring Ribonucleic Acid Content of Preparations of Deoxyribonucleic Acid. Nature 207, 758β759 (1965). https://doi.org/10.1038/207758a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/207758a0
This article is cited by
-
Genome size variation of rhizobia
Experientia (1984)
-
Fluorescamine, a fluorescence probe for amino groups in histochemical studies of plant cells and the effect of mercury fixation
The Histochemical Journal (1977)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.