Thermo Scientific™ Poly(A) Polymerase, Yeast

Thermo Scientific™ Poly(A) Polymerase, Yeast

Poly(A) Polymerase catalyses the addition of adenosine residues onto the 3' ends of RNA. It can be used to add poly(A) tails to RNA in the first step of cloning. The reaction requires Mn2+ or Mg2+, ATP as substrate, and any RNA containing 3' hydroxyl termini as primer. Substitution of cordycepin-5'-triphosphate (3'-dATP) for ATP results in addition of a single 3'-dA residue to the ends of the RNA, a useful technique for labeling RNA at the 3' end.

In comparative studies, yeast poly(A) polymerase works more efficiently than E. coli poly(A) polymerase for RNA oligonucleotide-labeling and poly(A) tailing. Shorter incubation times are required for the yeast enzyme and it is found to label both long and short substrates equally well. Poly(A) Polymerase is recommended over T4 RNA Ligase for 3'-end labeling of long RNA molecules.