Efficient Translation of Tobacco Mosaic Virus RNA and Rabbit Globin 9S RNA in a Cell-Free System from Commercial Wheat Germ

Abstract

Extracts prepared from commercially available wheat germ efficiently translate messenger RNAs from either viral or eukaryotic origin. The addition of tobacco mosaic virus RNA stimulated amino-acid incorporation more than 100-times and rabbit globin 9S RNA between 20- and 30-times. The in vitro product directed by globin 9S RNA comigrated precisely with authentic rabbit globin on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. Furthermore, during high voltage ionophoresis two [(35)S]methionine-labeled tryptic peptides synthesized in vitro comigrated in two dimensions with alphaT5 and betaT5 tryptic peptides from authentic [(35)S]methionine-labeled rabbit globin.