ELECTRON-MICROSCOPIC DEMONSTRATION OF TRANSCRIPTION OF RAM SPERM CHROMATIN

Transcription of ram sperm chromatin was examined by two electron micr oscopic techniques, namely spreading and thin sections. Labelling by S treptavidin-gold particles permits identification of transcription com plexes, that have previously incorporated biotinylated uridine triphos phate. This supports previous electron microscopic data for randomly d istributed transcription complexes and the presence of polymerase II m olecules, documented by means of specific antibody using immunoelectro n microscopy. Labelling of transcripts with biotin permits exact visua lization of the transcription process, as well as identification of re gions, where transcription occurs.