Figure 4.
Effect of incubation temperature on the self-cleavage rates of Pst3 and For6-2 synthetic RNAs. Each RNA was incubated at temperatures ranging from 25 to 65°C and aliquots were taken at regular intervals after the addition of 5 mM MgCl2. The rate of cleavage (kobs) was determined for each incubation temperature with at least three replicates per experiment. Both Pst3 and For6-2 showed similar kobs values at 35°C or lower temperatures. Above this point, the kobs of For6-2 declined while that of Pst3 attained a maximum value in the range of 50–55°C.