Abstract
A mixture of differentially labeled mouse and Bacillus subtilis DNA was used as a source of oligodeoxynucleotides of chain lengths from 15 to 40 nucleotides. The extent of interaction of these oligonucleotides with homologous or heterologous DNA bound to membrane filters was measured. The specificity of such interactions increases with chain length and with the incubation temperature. The thermal stability of the complexes is a function of chain length. Homologous oligonucleotide/DNA duplexes of B. subtilis are more stable than those of mouse of corresponding size, consistent with the incidence of partially related base sequences in mouse DNA. Oligonucleotides in this size range are also able to recognize partially complementary base sequences in the DNA of closely related organisms. This approach shows promise as a means of obtaining quantitative estimates of base sequence divergence between the DNAs of related organisms.
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This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (GB 6099).
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McConaughy, B.L., McCarthy, B.J. Related base sequences in the DNA of simple and complex organisms. V. The specificity of interactions between oligonucleotides and denatured DNA. Biochem Genet 4, 409–424 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00485757
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00485757