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. 1967 Jun 1;33(3):597–604. doi: 10.1083/jcb.33.3.597

THERMAL DEPOLARIZATION OF FLUORESCENCE FROM POLYTENE CHROMOSOMES STAINED WITH ACRIDINE ORANGE

James W MacInnes 1, Robert B Uretz 1
PMCID: PMC2107200  PMID: 6036523

Abstract

The degree of polarization of fluorescence from stretched Chironomus thummi polytene chromosomes, stained with low concentrations of acridine orange (AO), decreases with increasing temperature. The "half temperature" of this decrease (T ½R) is lower than the expected DNA thermal denaturation temperature (Tm) by about 20°C. T ½R is lowered as histone is removed from chromosomes. Balbiani ring regions of the fourth chromosome have T ½R's much lower than other regions, and nearly as low as chromosomes which had been extensively pretreated with trypsin to remove histone and other proteins. Measurements of the thermal change in the rotational diffusion rate of AO in solution with DNA indicate that the temperature at which the DNA-AO bonding changes from a "rigid" to a "loose" mode varies with the GC percentage of the DNA, and in the same fashion as Tm, although 20°C lower.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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