Figure 3.

Analysis of encapsulated nucleic acid content and size-selective RNA packaging of Dps_Encs. (A) Native agarose gel electrophoresis of nucleic acid extracted from purified Dps_Encs treated with either RNase (R), DNase (D), or Benzonase (B). Only nucleic acid treated with DNase retained its integrity, whereas RNase and Benzonase treatment led to complete digestion. (B) Native agarose gel electrophoresis of RNA extracted from Dps_Encs along with E.coli total RNA showing the size selectivity of differently sized Dps_Encs. A differential band for Dps_MxT3 and Dps_QtT4—absent in E. coli total RNA or T1 Dps_Encs—is highlighted by white arrows and putatively represents the respective Dps_Enc mRNA. Colored arrows indicate the following: 23S rRNA (red), 16S rRNA (yellow), tmRNA (purple), 5S rRNA (green), and tRNA (blue).