Estimation of ribosomal RNA transcription rate in situ

Traditionally, the rate of transcription is measured by metabolic labeling (e.g., the run-on assay), which can be carried out only in isolated or cultured cells. It has been difficult if not impossible to assess the rate of transcription of a gene in a specific cell type in situ. We show here that t...

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Main Authors: Chunhua Cui, Hung Tseng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2004-01-01
Series:BioTechniques
Online Access:https://www.future-science.com/doi/10.2144/04361RR04
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author Chunhua Cui
Hung Tseng
author_facet Chunhua Cui
Hung Tseng
author_sort Chunhua Cui
collection DOAJ
description Traditionally, the rate of transcription is measured by metabolic labeling (e.g., the run-on assay), which can be carried out only in isolated or cultured cells. It has been difficult if not impossible to assess the rate of transcription of a gene in a specific cell type in situ. We show here that the quantity of 47S precursor ribosomal RNA (pre-rRNA), which correlates positively with the rate of rRNA transcription as measured by the run-on assay, can serve as an indicator for the rate of its transcription. We adopted this method as an in situ hybridization procedure to demonstrate its validity in vivo. The notion of using the quantity of the primary transcript as an indicator of the rate of transcription has the potential application in monitoring the rate of messenger RNA transcription in single cells within a tissue of complex cellular composition.
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spelling doaj-art-924c0fdff903450593b5e6770d1a37f92025-08-20T02:26:09ZengTaylor & Francis GroupBioTechniques0736-62051940-98182004-01-0136113413810.2144/04361RR04Estimation of ribosomal RNA transcription rate in situChunhua Cui0Hung Tseng11University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA1University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USATraditionally, the rate of transcription is measured by metabolic labeling (e.g., the run-on assay), which can be carried out only in isolated or cultured cells. It has been difficult if not impossible to assess the rate of transcription of a gene in a specific cell type in situ. We show here that the quantity of 47S precursor ribosomal RNA (pre-rRNA), which correlates positively with the rate of rRNA transcription as measured by the run-on assay, can serve as an indicator for the rate of its transcription. We adopted this method as an in situ hybridization procedure to demonstrate its validity in vivo. The notion of using the quantity of the primary transcript as an indicator of the rate of transcription has the potential application in monitoring the rate of messenger RNA transcription in single cells within a tissue of complex cellular composition.https://www.future-science.com/doi/10.2144/04361RR04
spellingShingle Chunhua Cui
Hung Tseng
Estimation of ribosomal RNA transcription rate in situ
BioTechniques
title Estimation of ribosomal RNA transcription rate in situ
title_full Estimation of ribosomal RNA transcription rate in situ
title_fullStr Estimation of ribosomal RNA transcription rate in situ
title_full_unstemmed Estimation of ribosomal RNA transcription rate in situ
title_short Estimation of ribosomal RNA transcription rate in situ
title_sort estimation of ribosomal rna transcription rate in situ
url https://www.future-science.com/doi/10.2144/04361RR04
work_keys_str_mv AT chunhuacui estimationofribosomalrnatranscriptionrateinsitu
AT hungtseng estimationofribosomalrnatranscriptionrateinsitu