Resolution of crystalline ribonuclease by paper electrophoresis

1. Crystalline ribonuclease samples obtained from different commercial sources in addition to one prepared in the laboratory were resolved into their components, RNases I, II, III and IV, by a new two-dimensional electrophoretic technique 2. RNase I and RNase II liberated more uridyhc acid and cytidylic acid from yeast nbonucleic acid, and demonstrated a greater enzymic activity on undine-2', 3'-phosphate and cytidine-2',3'-phosphate, than either RNase III or RNase IV RNase III and RNaso IV liberated more adenylic acid and guanylic acid from yeast ribonucleic acid, and showed a greater enzymic activity on adenosine-2',3'-phosphate and guanosine-2', 3 '-phosphate than cither RNase I and RNase II 3. The degree of heterogeneity of the RNase samples studied revealed the age of the preparation 4. It is thus demonstrated, that certain of the activities of “crystalline nbonucleasc” reside in four different protein entities, and some activity toward punne nucleotidc esters existed in two of the four protein entities