The axoplasmic transport of 4S RNA within the sciatic nerve of the chicken

Following the introduction of [³H]uridine into the adult chicken spinal cord, a preferential labelling of 4S RNA with respect to rRNA was detected in the sciatic nerve at 2 and 4 days post-injection. No such proferential incorporation was observed within the spinal cord at the times examined nor in the sciatic nerve at 1 day post-injection. The results suggest that about 40% of the radioactivity in the sciatic nerve RNA after 4 days is due to tRNA transported from the spinal cord. Autoradiographic studies have shown that about 40% of radioactivity labelled RNA within the chicken sciatic nerve at 7–9 days post- injection is intraaxonal. It is concluded that RNA, but probably not rRNA, is transported within the axoplasm of the chicken sciatic nerve at approx. 20–25 mm/day.