Cross-linking of mRNA analogues containing 4-thiouridine residues on the 3'- or 5'-side of the coding triplet to the mRNA binding center of the human ribosome

The interaction between mRNA and 18S rRNA within complexes of human placenta 80S ribosomes has been investigated by photochemical cross-linking experiments using mRNA analogues substituted with 4-thiouridine at specific locations. mRNA analogues 51 or 54 nucleotides long were prepared from synthetic DNA templates. These mRNA analogues contained either the sequence GGG-ACC (coding for glycine and threonine, respectively) or the single triplet GGG together with 2-4 4-thiouridine residues located at various positions with respect to the coding triplets. The products of cross-linking of the mRNA analogues to 18S rRNA within different model complexes without tRNA or in the presence of cognate tRNAs were analyzed by reverse transcription