Biophysical Journal 8: 199-209 (1968)
© 1968 the Biophysical Society

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Dynamics of the Interactions of Basic Proteins with Polyribonucleotides

ABSTRACT

Pancreatic ribonuclease was irradiated in the dried state with electrons and then added to acetate buffer solutions that contained different concentrations of polyribonucleotides. Qualitatively similar results were obtained by adding a combination of unirradiated ribonuclease and lysozyme to such solutions. Such solutions scatter light strongly, and the intensity of the scattered light changes with time after mixing. The angular distribution of the scattered light was obtained as a function of time and compared with the rates at which hydrolysis products were formed. The turbidity of the solutions increases rapidly with time at the lower polyribonucleotide concentrations, and seems to result from a complex between inactive ribonuclease, or lysozyme, and oligonucleotides that appear during enzymic hydrolysis of the polynucleotides. The dissymmetry of the scattered light is approximately 5, indicating that the scattering centers are, if spherical, about 1500 A in diameter. The turbidities are remarkably high when one considers the low concentrations of protein and nucleic acid materials that are used.