Residual Activity of Thermally Denatured Transforming Deoxyribonucleic Acid from Haemophilus influenzae

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Barnhart, Benjamin J. (Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Md.). Residual activity of thermally denatured transforming deoxyribonucleic acid from Haemophilus influenzae. J. Bacteriol. 89:1271–1279. 1965.—The level of residual transforming activity of heated deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) (i.e., 1 to a few per cent of native DNA-transforming activity) was found to be independent of the heating and quenching temperatures and less susceptible than native or renatured DNA to heat inactivation upon prolonged heating above or below the critical melting temperature. Similar dose-response curves were obtained for inactivation by formamide of native and renatured DNA, but the residual-active material was much more resistant. Heating DNA above the Tm in the presence of 1% formaldehyde resulted in a level of residual activity 4 logs lower than that obtained without formaldehyde. Residual-active material was not inactivated by Escherichia coli phosphodiesterase, but it was susceptible to snake venom phosphodiesterase. A new genetic marker was induced in heated-quenched DNA but not in purified residual-active material following nitrous acid treatment. Residual activity was found to be less susceptible to ultraviolet inactivation and to band at a higher density region in CsCl than native DNA. In conclusion, it is suggested that the residual-active material is a structure formed by intrastrand hydrogen bonding of the separated units of heated-quenched DNA. Such a configuration would result in at least a partially double-stranded structure, which is probably the essential characteristic of the residual-active material endowing it with biological activity.

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