Abstract. Replacement of the signal recognition particle (SRP) 7S gene (SCRI) on a replicating plasmid with scrll (G to A at 129 and A to T at 131 in the consensus sequence -GNAR-in the loop of domain III) resulted in temperature sensitivity for growth of cells in which both chromosomal SRP 7S RNA genes were deleted . Pulse-chase immunoprecipitation experiments were done after a shift to non-permissive temperature using the major secreted protein the alkaline extracellular protease (AEP) as a reporter molecule. No untranslocated AEP precursor was detected in a strain with scrll on a plasmid, but the amount of the largest AEP precursor (55 kD) immunoprecipitated as a percentage of total protein synthesized was reduced 68% compared to an isogenic strain with SCRI N higher eukaryotes, evidence suggests that the signal recognition particle (SRP)' is essential for protein translocation across the ER membrane. SRP is a soluble IIS ribonucleoprotein composed of six polypeptides (72,68,54,19,14, and 9 kD) and a single 7S RNA of 300 nucleotides (66,74) . From the study of in vitro systems, a model has been proposed in which SRP functions as an adapter between the translational machinery in the cytoplasm and the translocational machinery in the ER membrane (49,66,74) . The functions of individual SRP proteins have been elucidated by the study of "mutant" SRPs reconstituted in vitro (63, 65) . Three functions ofSRP have been identified : signal recognition, elongation arrest, and translocation promotion (66). Translation of mRNAs coding for secretory proteins begins on free ribosomes in the cytoplasm . When the polypeptide chain has elongated sufficiently, SRP binds the signal sequence/ribosome complex . This interaction results in arrest or pausing of translation (74, 78) . The SRP/ribosome complex is then targeted to the SRP receptor, an ER integral membrane protein. This results in the release of SRP and translational arrest, and the polypeptide is then co-translationally translocated into the ER. During or shortly after on the plasmid . The possibility that an untranslocated precursor was synthesized but not detected because of instability was largely eliminated by detection of a 53-kD untranslocated precursor of a mutated AEP (P17M; methionine replaced proline in the second position of the pro-peptide) which chased to the 55-kD translocated AEP precursor. Thus, SRP has a role in the biosynthesis of AEP. Possibly, the scrll mutation does not affect signal recognition or translational arrest but instead results in maintenance of translational arrest of AEP synthesis . The results also suggest that AEP can be translocated in vivo either co-translationally in which SRP is at least involved in biosynthesis or posttranslationally without SRP involvement .translocation, signal peptide cleavage and core glycosylation occur. Besides a role as a scaffold for binding SRP proteins (73), functional roles for SRP 7S RNA in elongation arrest and in interaction with the SRP receptor have been proposed (36,63,81) . Recently, it has b...