Under the appropriate conditions, high pressure liquid chromatography of alkaline hydrolysates of short RNAs allows the identification of the 5′-end group under the form of a nucleoside 5′, 3′(2′)-bisphosphate. The separation conditions were elaborated with an artificial mixture of nucleoside mono-and bisphosphates, tested with an alkaline hydrolysate of Escherichia coli 5 S rRNA, and applied to the identification of the Artemia salina 5 S rRNA end group.
