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Biomedical subjects

B Robert

Publications and source records attributed to B Robert.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

Muscle coding sequences and their regulation during myogenesis: cloning of muscle actin cDNA probes.

For a number of years our group has been mainly interested in the regulation of muscle gene expression during myogenesis. Using primary cultures and cell lines we have tried to find out whether the coding sequences for muscle proteins are already present in an unexpressed form or if there is a transcriptional switch at the onset of differentiation. Metabolic studies on pulse-labelled RNA, together with translation and molecular hybridization experiments have given a certain number of indications. More recently the development of genetic engineering techniques has made it possible to answer these questions directly with probes which are complementary to specific muscle coding sequences. We have identified a plasmid which contains a coding sequence for muscle actin. Other recombinant plasmids are being characterized. Such plasmids, used as probes, will permit us to study the organization and expression of the genes coding for the contractile proteins in muscle cells.

Actins↗

Complexity of nuclear and polysomal polyadenylated RNA in a pluripotent embryonal carcinoma cell line.

The base-sequence complexities and relative abundance of polysomal and nuclear polyadenylated [poly(A+)] RNA sequences have been analyzed in a pluripotent embryonal carcinoma cell line. Polysomal RNA and nuclear poly(A+) RNA have a complexity representing respectively 0.5% and 2.5% of the single copy component of haploid mouse DNA (1.8 X 10(6) K base pairs). By hybridization with specific cDNAs, three abundance classes were found in polysomal poly(A+) RNA, representing respectively 31%, 33%, and 36% of the RNA, with base sequence complexities of 0.1 X 10(3), 0.9 X 10(3), and 14.5 X 10(3) kilobases. This corresponds to 7000-8000 different mRNA species of an average length of 2000 nucleotides, present on an average of 5 to 600 copies per cell. In nuclear RNA, a major class of abundance was found with a complexity of 100 X 10(3) kilobases, each sequence being present in 1 copy per nucleus. The majority of the polysomal poly(A+) RNA sequences are represented in the nuclear poly(A+) RNA but are present in a more restricted range of relative abundance implying posttranscriptional mechanisms of quantitative modulation: polysomal RNA sequences appear to be preferentially transcribed into nuclear cDNA suggesting a preferential location of these sequences close to poly(A) sequences. The presence of a specialized gene product, globin specific RNA, could not be detected either in the nuclear or polysomal compartments of embryonal carcinoma cells, even at levels that would have detected one sequence per 50 cells.

Base Sequence↗

Chromatin transcription. I. Quantitative determination of gene-specific RNA by use of bacterial plasmids containing the eukaryotic DNA sequence of viral DNA.

Specific gene transcription from chromatin has been examined in two different systems by using direct measurement of specific sequences by hybridization with excess DNA probe. An improved procedure has been used for hybridization of DNA immobilized on filters. This procedure is sensitive to less than one part in 10(5). Polyoma RNA sequences were detected a level of 0.004% in the overall transcript from chromatin of ts-a-transformed 3T3 fibroblasts. By the use of constructed plasmid DNA carrying rabbit globin sequences, globin RNA was titrated in the RNA transcribed from chromatin of bone marrow cells. Its relative frequency was 0.01%. Results obtained with this new approach confirm that DNA in chromatin is not randomly transcribed. They further illustrate that a reproducible assay system is now available for studying control elements active on gene expression at the transcriptional level, taking advantage of the constructed plasmids containing eukaryotic gene DNA fragments.

Animals↗