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Long molecules of free DNA in the sheared chromatin preparation

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Abstract

Hydrodynamic shearing of chromatin in the presence of Mg2+ ions produces two discrete types of particles: (1) molecules of completely free DNA which comprise 20–23% of the total DNA and (2) histone-covered DNA molecules which contain all five histone fractions. The average length of free DNA molecules depends on the intensity of shearing and can be as high as 1000 base pairs or more. Shearing of chromatin in the absence of Mg2+ produces a heterogeneous population of DNP particles; no free DNA is liberated. However, the addition of Mg2+ to this preparation results in appearance of free DNA molecules and in a complete restoration of the above ‘bimodal’ distribution.

These findings support a previously proposed ‘asymmetric hairpin’ model of DNA packing in the chromatin [1–3].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Molecular Biology, Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R., Moscow, USSR

    A. J. Varshavsky, Yu. V. Ilyin & G. P. Georgiev

Authors
  1. A. J. Varshavsky
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  2. Yu. V. Ilyin
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  3. G. P. Georgiev
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Varshavsky, A.J., Ilyin, Y.V. & Georgiev, G.P. Long molecules of free DNA in the sheared chromatin preparation. Molecular Biology Reports 1, 201–207 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00357642

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00357642

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