Base sequence complexity of the stable RNA species of Drosophila melanogaster.

The base sequence complexity of Drosophila transfer RNA (tRNA), 5S RNA, and 18S + 28S ribosomal RNA was determined by analyzing the kinetics of RNA-DNA hybridization on membrane filters. We find that Drosophila tRNA is made up from about 59 basic nucleotide sequences distinguishable by hybridization, suggesting that many of the 99 tRNA species resolved by reverse phase chromatography (RPC-5) are homogenic. In contrast 5S RNA was found to contain a single family of sequences. Either 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) alone, or 18S + 28S rRNA together, behaved kinetically as two sequence families, and the possible basis for this unexpected result is discussed.