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Quantitative Northern Blot Analysis of Mammalian rRNA Processing

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The Nucleolus

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1455))

Abstract

Assembly of eukaryotic ribosomes is an elaborate biosynthetic process that begins in the nucleolus and requires hundreds of cellular factors. Analysis of rRNA processing has been instrumental for studying the mechanisms of ribosome biogenesis and effects of stress conditions on the molecular milieu of the nucleolus. Here, we describe the quantitative analysis of the steady-state levels of rRNA precursors, applicable to studies in mammalian cells and other organisms. We include protocols for gel electrophoresis and northern blotting of rRNA precursors using procedures optimized for the large size of these RNAs. We also describe the ratio analysis of multiple precursors, a technique that facilitates the accurate assessment of changes in the efficiency of individual pre-rRNA processing steps.

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References

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by NIH grant GM074091 to DGP.

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Correspondence to Dimitri G. Pestov .

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© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Wang, M., Pestov, D.G. (2016). Quantitative Northern Blot Analysis of Mammalian rRNA Processing. In: Németh, A. (eds) The Nucleolus. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1455. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3792-9_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3792-9_12

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-3790-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-3792-9

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