Polyribonucleotide synthesis by subfractions of microsomes from rat liver.

1. The microsome fraction of rat liver has been fractionated and the ability of the fractions to incorporate ribonucleotides into polyribonucleotides has been studied. Activity was found in the rough-surfaced vesicle (light) fraction and in the free-ribosome fraction and this latter activity has been examined. 2. The free-ribosome fraction contains ribosome monomers, dimers and trimers together with some higher oligomers and ferritin. In addition to catalysing the incorporation of ribonucleotides into acid-insoluble material it contains diesterase activity. It catalyses the incorporation of UMP from UTP, but not UDP, AMP from ATP and CMP from CTP into polyribonucleotide material, and for UTP the product appears to be a homopolymer not more than eight units long attached to the ends of primer polyribonucleotide strands. 3. The activity could not be removed from the free-ribosome fraction by washing or by isolation in the presence of ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid. 4. Partially hydrolysed polyuridylic acid but not polyadenylic acid could serve as a primer for the incorporation of UMP, but some activity was always associated with an endogenous primer. 5. Analysis of RNA extracted from the free-ribosome fraction after incubation with [(3)H]UTP showed the presence of 28s, 18s, 5s and transfer RNA types, but no radioactivity was associated with any of these RNA fractions.