Nucleotide sequence of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) ribosomal 5.8 S ribonucleic acid.

The nucleotide sequence of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) 5.8 S rRNA was determined to be (formula: see text). The major molecular species is 161 nucleotides long; the sequence differs in only eight nucleotides from that of Man. An estimate of the secondary structure retains essentially all of the features previously described in mammalian 5.8 S RNAs with several interesting variations. The very stable G-C-rich hairpin loop is extended by two additional hydrogen bond pairs; the A-U-rich loop is shorter; and a third 2'-O-methylation occurs at residue 8 close to the under methylated U(m) residue at position 14. Comparisons with other known sequences indicate that in eukaryotes 5.8 S rRNA is more highly conserved than 5 S RNA species.