Figure 2.

Recombination between the Extended 5′ and 3′ Fragments of RQ135⁻¹(−) RNA

The number of replicable recombinant molecules was assessed as the number of RNA colonies hybridized with specific labeled probes.

(A) Colonies produced by the indicated number of molecules of the 5′ and 3′ fragments preincubated separately or in a mixture in a Mg²⁺-free buffer during 45 min. Hybridization with the labeled 5′ fragment.

(B) Colonies produced by 10¹⁰ molecules each of the mixed 5′ and 3′ fragments, or the 3′ fragment only (bottom row), preincubated in the absence or in the presence of 10 mM MgCl₂ during the specified time period. Hybridization with the labeled 5′ fragment.

(C) Same as (B), but hybridization with a labeled oligonucleotide targeted against the foreign extensions.