The circular dichroism of ribosomal ribonucleic acids.

1. The c.d. (circular dichroism) of Drosophila melanogaster rRNA (42% G+C) and of G+C-rich fragments (78% G+C) obtained by partial hydrolysis of rabbit L-rRNA (the largest RNA species isolated from the large subribosomal particle) were measured and found to differ substantially. 2. To interpret these spectra a relation between c.d. of bihelical RNA and % G+C was derived, namely delta epsilonfG = AFG2+bfG+c, where deltaepsilonfG is the c.d. of RNA characterized by a mole fraction, fG, of guanine nucleotides and a, b and c are constants. 3. A frame of reference was established by studying the c.d. of a range of rRNA species, including S-rRNA (the RNA species isolated from the smaller subribosomal particle) and L-rRNA of Escherichia coli. 4. It was found for the rRNA species studied that 0.60+/-0.05 of residues appear to form bihelical secondary structure. 5. A higher helical content, 0.66+/-0.05, was found for the G+C-rich fragment of L-rRNA. The difference in the c.d. of rabbit L-rRNA and of D. melanogaster rRNA is attributable to the dependence of c.d. of the bihelical parts on %G+C. 6. The minimum in c.d. at 295 nm increases with increasing %G+C. The c.d. of rRNA was compared with that of the parent subparticle in this region of the spectrum, where high precision may be attained.