Drosophila and mammalian nuclear extracts cleave pre-mRNA at different sites. (A) dH3∗ pre-mRNA was processed in S-2 dNE (lane 1) and mouse H2a pre-mRNA was processed in either mouse myeloma (mNE, lane 2) or HeLa (hNE, lane 3) nuclear extracts. The length of the processing products (Proc) was compared after electrophoresis in an 8% low-resolution denaturing gel. The dH3∗ pre-mRNA (Unproc) substrate is longer from mouse H2a pre-mRNA at the 3′ end by 19 nucleotides, but the sequence of the 5′ end is identical. (B) The processing product of mouse H2a pre-mRNA generated in mNE (lane 2) was analyzed in high-resolution, 40-cm 12% polyacrylamide gels, next to a 48-nucleotide synthetic RNA ending precisely at the ACCCA sequence (lane 1). (C) Mammalian (lanes 1 and 3) and Drosophila (lane 2) processing products, generated as described for panel A, were analyzed side by side in a high-resolution gel, as described for panel B.