Coprecipitation of thermal lysine-rich proteinoids with polyribonucleotides

An experimental study was conducted to determine whether the precipitation of thermal proteinoids with homopolynucleotides can serve as a tool for studying the specificities between proteins and polynucleotides. Attention is given to exploring the best means of quantitation of the precipitate and the effect of varying the lysine content and the amount of Mg(2+) on the results. The formation of microparticles was monitored both by turbidity and by the mass of precipitate formed. Only under certain conditions was the turbidity a reliable indication of the amount of precipitate. Increasing concentration of Mg(2+) tended to displace proteinoid from the complex with polynucleotide. The results indicate that the interaction of thermal proteinoids with polynucleotides appears to be a suitable tool for studying specificities of interactions between proteins and nucleic acids.