Analysis of the RNA of Euglena gracilis on polyacrylamide gels

Five peaks of RNA from bleached Euglena gracilis are resolved by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. The extraction of these RNA's and their subsequent resolution on gels is dependent upon pH and the presence of an RNase inhibitor (e.g., macaloid). Careful control of ionic strength also appears necessary. Inorganic phosphate is incorporated first by low molecular weight RNA, then by a high molecular weight RNA (hRNA) and a peak with a sedimentation coefficient of 13S, and then by rRNA. The electrophoretic pattern of RNA from Astasia longa is similar to that of bleached Euglena whereas that from wild-type Euglena is more complex and presumably reflects the presence of chloroplast RNA's in these latter cells.