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At least 379 records · Page 21Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Small differences in electrophoretic mobility among circularly permuted sequence isomers of duck hepatitis B virus linear, single-stranded DNA.

Two linear minus-strand viral DNAs, disparate in size by 10 nucleotides, were isolated from duck hepatitis B virus infected tissues and observed to migrate differently in nondenaturing agarose gels. We examined this phenomenon using both synthetic and cloned viral DNAs and discovered that distinct, circularly permuted, linear isomers of single-stranded DNA could have slightly different electrophoretic mobilities under nondenaturing conditions. This finding reveals a novel feature for consideration in assessing the conformations of native or renatured single-stranded nucleic acids. The study also suggests that the virion-derived minus-strand DNAs of the avihepadnaviridae may necessarily possess a minimal secondary structure.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Study of the DNA/ethidium bromide interactions on mica surface by atomic force microscope: influence of the surface friction.

The influence of mica surface on DNA/ethidium bromide interactions is investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). We describe the diffusion mechanism of a DNA molecule on a mica surface by using a simple analytical model. It appears that the DNA diffusion on a mica surface is limited by the surface friction due to the counterion correlations between the divalent counterions condensed on both mica and DNA surfaces. We also study the structural changes of linear DNA adsorbed on mica upon ethidium bromide binding by AFM. It turns out that linear DNA molecules adsorbed on a mica surface are unable to relieve the topological constraint upon ethidium bromide binding. In particular, strongly adsorbed molecules tend to be highly entangled, while loosely bound DNA molecules appear more extended with very few crossovers. Adsorbed DNA molecules cannot move freely on the surface because of the surface friction. Therefore, the topological constraint increases due to the ethidium bromide binding. Moreover, we show that ethidium bromide has a lower affinity for strongly bound molecules due to the topological constraint induced by the surface friction.

Adsorption↗
PubMed1993

Interaction between replication forks and topoisomerase I-DNA cleavable complexes: studies in a cell-free SV40 DNA replication system.

The extreme S-phase-specific cytotoxicity of camptothecin has been shown to involve active DNA replication. To investigate the role of DNA replication in camptothecin cytotoxicity, we have studied the interaction between the DNA replication machinery and the topoisomerase I-camptothecin-DNA ternary cleavable complex in a cell-free SV40 DNA replication system. The formation of topoisomerase I-camptothecin-DNA-cleavable complexes on the replication template efficiently and irreversibly inhibited DNA replication. Two aberrant forms of replication products were produced whose abundance varied with the concentrations of exogenously added topoisomerase I and camptothecin. At low concentrations of topoisomerase I and camptothecin, the major aberrant DNA replication product was close-to-unit-length-linear DNA, while at higher concentrations the predominant product was close-to-dimer-size-linear DNA. Analysis of these aberrant replication products has suggested a "collision" model in which the interaction between an advancing replication fork and a topoisomerase I-camptothecin-DNA-cleavable complex results in irreversible arrest of the replication fork and the formation of a double-strand DNA break at the fork. Concomitant with fork arrest and fork breakage, the reversible cleavable complex was converted into a topoisomerase I-linked DNA break. We propose that one or several of these events triggers S-phase-specific cell killing and G2-phase cell cycle arrest.

Camptothecin↗
PubMed2001

Mutations that increase in situ priming also decrease circularization for duck hepatitis B virus.

The process of hepadnavirus reverse transcription involves two template switches during the synthesis of plus-strand DNA. The first involves translocation of the plus-strand primer from its site of generation, the 3' end of minus-strand DNA, to the complementary sequence DR2, located near the 5' end of the minus-strand DNA. Plus strands initiated from DR2 are extended to the 5' end of the minus-strand DNA. At this point, the 3' end of the minus strand becomes the template via the second template switch, a process called circularization. Elongation of circularized plus-strand DNA generates relaxed circular DNA. Although most virions contain relaxed circular DNA, some contain duplex linear DNA. Duplex linear genomes are synthesized when the plus-strand primer is used at the site of its generation, the 3' end of the minus-strand template. This type of synthesis is called in situ priming. Although in situ priming is normally low, in some duck hepatitis B virus mutants this type of priming is elevated. For example, mutations within the 3' end of the minus-strand DNA can lead to increased levels of in situ priming. We report here that these same mutations result in a second defect, a less efficient template switch that circularizes the genome. Although it is not clear how these mutations affect both steps in DNA replication, our findings suggest a commonality in the mechanism of initiation of plus-strand synthesis and the template switch that circularizes the genome.

Cell Line↗
PubMed1983

Purification of small polydisperse circular DNA of eukaryotic cells by use of ATP-dependent deoxyribonuclease.

Small polydisperse circular (spc) DNAs of mouse thymocytes were purified by a procedure involving nitrocellulose column chromatography and the treatment of ATP-dependent DNase, which acts only upon linear DNA molecules. Nitrocellulose column chromatography prior to the enzyme treatment was essential because digestion of linear DNA duplexes by the enzyme was inhibited by the presence of concomitant single-stranded DNAs. Mitochondrial DNAs were eliminated by linearization with XhoI and digestion with ATP-dependent DNase. The size distribution of the purified spc DNA molecules ranged from 0.2 micron to more than 28 micron, with a mean length of 5.4 micron. Circular molecules of more than 0.4 micron long (or 1.2 kb) were free from the contamination of linear DNA fragments and pure enough to be cloned into plasmids.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Crosslinking the EcoRV restriction endonuclease across the DNA-binding site reveals transient intermediates and conformational changes of the enzyme during DNA binding and catalytic turnover.

EcoRV completely encircles bound DNA with two loops, forming the entry and exit gate for the DNA substrate. These loops were crosslinked generating CL-EcoRV which binds and releases linear DNA only slowly, because threading linear DNA into and out of the DNA-binding 'tunnel' of CL-EcoRV is not very effective. If the crosslinking reaction is carried out with a circular bound DNA, CL-EcoRV is hyperactive towards the trapped substrate which is cleaved very quickly but not very accurately. CL-EcoRV also binds to, but does not cleave, circular DNA when added from the outside, because it cannot enter the active site. Based on these results a two-step binding model is proposed for EcoRV: initial DNA binding occurs at the outer side of the loops before the gate opens and then the DNA is transferred to the catalytic center.

Amino Acid Substitution↗
PubMed1973

DNA replication of induced prophage in Haemophilus influenzae.

DNA synthesis during transition from the lysogenic state to the lytic cycle and throughout the latter has been studied in Haemophilus influenzae BC200 (HP1c1). Following exposure to ultraviolet light, there is a 30-min delay in DNA synthesis after which there is a rapidly increasing rate of phage DNA synthesis. The phage genome is replicated without extensive utilization of segments or of breakdown products of the bacterial chromosome. The mode of phage DNA replication was investigated by zonal sedimentation of labeled DNA in 5 to 20% neutral and alkaline sucrose gradients. Tritiated thymidine, incorporated during a 2-min pulse given at 38 min, chases rapidly into DNA, sedimenting like linear DNA of approximately 2 x 10(8) daltons, and then, at the expense of label in this peak, chases into slower-sedimenting phage DNA (2 x 10(7) daltons). The fast-sedimenting, rapidly labeled DNA satisfies certain criteria for being a concatenated replicative intermediate. Observations in the electron microscope revealed linear concatemers in the faster-sedimenting material and circular phage-sized DNA in the slower-sedimenting DNA. When induced cells are gently lysed with lysozyme and Brij 58 to maintain DNA-membrane associations and sedimented in neutral sucrose over a cesium chloride shelf, the concatemer is found with the cell-membrane-wall complex. Membrane-associated label chases to membrane-free material sedimenting like deproteinized HP1c1 DNA. When membrane-associated DNA from the cesium chloride shelf is deproteinized and resedimented in neutral sucrose, the sedimentation profile reveals that sedimentation rates of labeled DNA from this complex are indicative of sizes ranging from 2 x 10(8) daltons down to phage-sized pieces of 2 to 3 x 10(7) daltons. A model is presented which places HP1c1-DNA replication on the cell membrane where a concatemer of phage DNA is synthesized and subsequently degraded to phage-equivalent DNA. Phage-equivalent DNA is then either released from the membrane for packaging or is packaged while still membrane associated. Thus, the cell membrane is not only the site of DNA replication during which phage DNA is synthesized in multiple phage-equivalent concatemers but it is also the site at which these concatemers are selectively reduced to phage-sized pieces.

Bacteriophages↗
PubMed1996

DNA cleavage by the type IC restriction-modification enzyme EcoR124II.

Type I restriction-modification systems bind to non-palindromic, bipartite recognition sequences. Although these enzymes methylate specific adenine residues within their recognition sequences, they cut DNA at sites up to several thousand base-pairs away. We have investigated the mechanism of how EcoR124II, a type IC restriction-modification system, selects the cleavage site. Restriction studies with different DNA constructs revealed that circular DNA requires only one non-methylated recognition sequence to be cut, whereas linear DNA needs at least two such sites. Cleavage of linear DNA is independent of site orientation. Further investigations of the linear substrates revealed a mechanism whereby the double-strand break is introduced between two recognition sequences. We propose a model for the selection of restriction sites by type I enzymes where two EcoR124II complexes bind to two recognition sequences. Lack of methylation at a site stimulates the enzyme to translocate DNA on both sides of the recognition sequence. Thus the two complexes approach each other and, at the point where they meet, they interact to introduce a double-strand break in the DNA.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed2002

DNA hydrolytic cleavage by the diiron(III) complex Fe(2)(DTPB)(mu-O)(mu-Ac)Cl(BF(4))(2): comparison with other binuclear transition metal complexes.

The binuclear structure of Fe(2)(DTPB)(mu-O)(mu-Ac)Cl(BF(4))(2) (DTPB = 1,1,4,7,7-penta (2'-benzimidazol-2-ylmethyl)-triazaheptane, Ac = acetate) was characterized by UV-visible absorption and infrared spectra and NMR and ESR. The binding interaction of DNA with the diiron complex was examined spectroscopically. Supercoiled and linear DNA hydrolytic cleavage by the diiron complex is supported by the evidence from anaerobic reactions, free radical quenching, high performance liquid chromatography experiments, and enzymatic manipulation such as T4 ligase ligation, 5'-(32)P end-labeling, and footprinting analysis. The estimation of rate for the supercoiled DNA double strand cleavage shows one of the largest known rate enhancement factors, approximately 10(10) against DNA. Moreover, the DNA hydrolysis chemistry needs no coreactant such as hydrogen peroxide. The poor sequence-specific DNA cleavage indicated by the restriction analysis of the pBR322 DNA linearized by the diiron complex might be due to the diiron complex bound to DNA by a coordination of its two ferric ions to the DNA phosphate oxygens, as suggested by spectral characterizations. The hydrolysis chemistry for a variety of binuclear metal complexes including Fe(2)(DTPB)(mu-O)(mu-Ac)Cl(BF(4))(2) is compared. It is established that the dominant factors for the DNA hydrolysis activities of the binuclear metal complexes are the mu-oxo bridge, labile and anionic ligands, and open coordination site(s). Concerning the hydrolytic mechanisms, the diiron complex Fe(2)(DTPB)(mu-O)(mu-Ac)Cl(BF(4))(2) might share many points in common with the native purple acid phosphatases.

Bacteriophage T4↗
PubMed1994

Initiation of transcription by RNA polymerase II is limited by melting of the promoter DNA in the region immediately upstream of the initiation site.

To further elucidate the mechanism of transcriptional initiation, we used synthetic oligonucleotides to prepare templates containing heteroduplex regions of varying size and location along the DNA of the adenovirus major late promoter. Unlike closed, linear DNA, or DNA with a downstream mismatch, DNA with a mismatch upstream of the initiation site only required the general factors TATA box-binding protein and transcription factor (TF) IIB to direct specific and accurate initiation in vitro by calf thymus RNA polymerase II. In the presence of TFIIF, initiation was possible on closed, linear DNA, but an upstream mismatch region still stimulated transcriptional initiation by more than 100-fold, leading to production of approximately 0.5 transcript/template in the absence of TFIIE, TFIIH, or ATP. The presence of a DNA mismatch was most effective in the -9 to -1 region; furthermore, stimulation by a mismatch did not require that the initiation site be included in the heteroduplex region. Efficient initiation at the immunoglobulin heavy chain promoter in the presence of TATA box-binding protein and TFIIB was also achieved when a mismatch region was introduced from -9 to +3. Our results suggest that initiation by RNA polymerase II in the absence of transcriptional activation is limited by melting of the promoter DNA upstream of the initiation site.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Purification and properties of DNA endonucleases associated with Friend leukemia virus.

An endonuclease associated with the core of Friend leukemia virus (FLV) has been purified more than 10(3)-fold by ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration. Its molecular weight was determined by gel filtration to be about 40,000. Divalent cations were required for the endonuclease to function and KCl concentrations above 50 mM inhibited the enzyme activity. In the presence of Mg++ the purified enzyme nicked preferentially supercoiled circular DNA duplexes and in most of these molecules only one single-stranded nick was introduced per strand. The regions into which the nick could be introduced appeared to be randomly distributed on the circular molecule. When Mn++ was substituted for Mg++ the number of nicks introduced into DNA by the purified enzyme was greatly increased, and both relaxed circular and linear DNA duplexes were nicked as well as supercoiled circular DNA duplexes. Prior to its purification, however, in the presence of Mn++ the endonuclease activity in the virus extract was able to differentiate between circular and linear DNA duplexes, since both supercoiled and relaxed circular duplexes were nicked much more readily than linear duplexes. Single-stranded DNA functioned poorly as a substrate for the purified enzyme.

Cell Line↗
PubMed2002

Detection of neutralizing antibodies against human papillomaviruses (HPV) by inhibition of gene transfer mediated by HPV pseudovirions.

The goal of this study was to develop a human papillomavirus (HPV) neutralization assay using HPV pseudovirions generated in vitro. For this purpose, gene transfer efficiency of HPV virus-like particles (VLPs) was improved by using direct interaction between a reporter plasmid and the VLPs. Electron microscopic observation of the interaction between DNA molecules and VLPs revealed that VLPs always interact with a single DNA molecule and that VLPs bind to the end of linearized DNA molecules. An 100-fold improvement in the gene transfer was obtained by simple interaction between a linearized DNA molecule and VLPs. Moreover, direct interaction methods offer the possibility of transferring plasmids a size higher than that of the papillomavirus genome. The approach that we developed to generate HPV-16 and HPV-31 pseudovirions proved to be suitable for testing neutralizing antibodies in human sera both after immunization and after natural infection.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Replication of herpes simplex virus type 1 DNA is inhibited in a temperature-sensitive mutant of BHK-21 cells lacking RCC1 (regulator of chromosome condensation) and virus DNA remains linear.

tsBN2, a temperature-sensitive (ts) growth mutant of the hamster cell line BHK-21, has a point mutation in the RCC1 (regulator of chromosome condensation) gene, and prematurely enters mitosis at 39.5 degrees C, a nonpermissive temperature. In this mutant at 39.5 degrees C infectious progeny of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) was not produced and replication of HSV-1 DNA was inhibited. HSV-1 DNA from virus particles is normally circularized upon infection, and circularized HSV-1 DNA molecules can serve as template for DNA replication. In tsBN2 at 39.5 degrees C, HSV-1 DNA appeared to remain linear after infection, suggesting the obstruction of HSV-1 DNA circularization, which could account for failure of HSV-1 DNA replication. In transient replication assays performed in tsBN2 at 39.5 degrees C, through superinfection with HSV-1 helper virus, there was no evidence of replication of circular DNA of the hybrid plasmid containing the HSV-1 replication origin. Production of mRNAs of HSV-1 early genes required for HSV-1 DNA replication was decreased in tsBN2 at 39.5 degrees C. Therefore, RCC1 was assumed to be involved in the formation of an HSV-1 DNA configuration suitable for replication (that is circularization) and the supply of proteins required for replication of the circularized HSV-1 DNAs.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Circular intermediates with missing nucleotides in the conversion of supercoiled or nicked circular to linear duplex DNA catalyzed by two species of BAL 31 nuclease.

The extracellular nucleases from Alteromonas espejiana BAL 31 can catalyze the endonucleolytic and/or exonucleolytic hydrolysis of duplex DNA in response to a variety of alterations, either covalent or noncovalent, in DNA structure. The nuclease can exist as at least two kinetically and molecularly distinct protein species. The two species that have been studied, called the 'fast' (F) and 'slow' (S) nucleases, both readily convert negatively supercoiled DNAs to linear duplex molecules and accomplish this conversion through the formation of a circular duplex intermediate containing usually a single interruption in one strand. It is further shown that most of these intermediates contain gaps arising from the removal in a processive manner of one or more nucleotide residues after the introduction of the initial strand break (nick). Considering only the intermediates with gaps, the average number of missing residues is 6.3 +/- 0.5 and 2.8 +/- 0.3, respectively, for DNA acted upon by the F and S enzymes independently of the extent of conversion of supercoiled DNA. The nicks and gaps are bounded by 3'-hydroxyl and 5'-phosphoryl termini. When singly nicked circular DNA is used as the substrate, conversion to the linear duplex form occurs predominantly through a gapped circular intermediate with the same average numbers, within experimental error, of missing nucleotides for the respective nuclease species as found when supercoiled DNA is the substrate. The conversion to linear duplex DNA is much slower when nicked circular DNA is the substrate compared to that found when supercoiled DNA is the starting material.

DNA, Circular↗
PubMed1975

The assay and isolation of DNA rings using an ATP-dependent endonuclease.

The ATP-dependent endonuclease from Hemophilus influenzae is relatively inactive on closed or open DNA rings, yet rapidly hydrolyzes single- or double-chained linear DNA. This enzyme in combination with an exonuclease (exo VII) has been shown to spare various circular DNA molecules including those having single-chain regions of significant length. However, rings containing single-chained regions are broken at a rate depending on the length of these regions. By admixing a linear DNA of alternate radiolabel, a simple assay for DNA rings has been developed. The application of this procedure to the assay of folded rings from Drosophila DNA is demonstrated.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed2000

The protelomerase of temperate Escherichia coli phage N15 has cleaving-joining activity.

Escherichia coli phage N15 encodes the slightly acidic, 630-residue protein of 72.2 kDa called protelomerase (TelN). TelN is a component of the N15 replication system proposed to be involved in the generation of the linear prophage DNA. This linear DNA molecule has covalently closed ends. The reaction converting circular plasmids into linear molecules was catalyzed in vitro. We demonstrate that the product of telN functions as the protelomerase in the absence of other N15-encoded factors. Purified TelN processes circular and linear plasmid DNA containing the proposed target site telRL to produce linear double-stranded DNA with covalently closed ends. The 56-bp telRL target site consists of a central telO palindrome of 22 bp and two 14-bp flanking sequences comprising inverted repeats. telO is separated from these repeats by 3 bp on each side. The telRL sequence is sufficient for TelN-mediated processing. The ends of the DNA molecules generated in vitro have the same configuration as do those observed in vivo. TelN exerts its activity as cleaving-joining enzyme in a concerted action.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Bacillus subtilis 168 RecR protein-DNA complexes visualized as looped structures.

The Bacillus subtilis 168 RecR protein bound to duplex DNA in the presence of ATP and divalent cations (Mg2+ and Zn2+) was visualized by electron microscopy as a nearly spherical particle. A RecR homomultimer is frequently located at the intersection of two duplex DNA strands in an interwound DNA molecule, generating DNA loops of variable length. Two individual DNA molecules bound to the same protein are seen at a very low frequency, if at all. The association of RecR with the intersection of two duplex DNA strands is more often seen in supercoiled than with relaxed or linear DNA. The RecR protein displays a slight but significant preference for negatively supercoiled over linear DNA. The minimum substrate size for RecR protein is about 150 bp in length. A possible mechanism for RecR function in DNA repair is discussed.

Bacillus subtilis↗