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. 1981 Jan 24;9(2):389–400. doi: 10.1093/nar/9.2.389

Renaturation of DNA: a novel reaction of histones.

M M Cox, I R Lehman
PMCID: PMC326700  PMID: 6782553

Abstract

Histones isolated from several sources, either singly or in combination promote the renaturation of complementary single strands of DNA, as measured by the acquisition of resistance to S1 nuclease. The reaction is rapid (T1/2 less than 1 min), and is stoichiometric rather than catalytic. Renaturation is stimulated by Mg2+, Mn2+, and Ca2+, but is strongly inhibited by Zn2+. Crude extracts of early embryos of Drosophila melanogaster possess renaturation activity which is protease sensitive, heat-stable, and acid-soluble, suggesting that most or all of it can be attributed to histones. This observation thus provides a functional assay for histones that should prove useful in studies of chromatin and histone-DNA interactions, as well as for the identification and isolation of histones and histone-like proteins in crude extracts.

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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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