Abstract
ATP-dependent deoxyribonuclease(s) (ATP-DNase) is involved in the genetic recombination process in Escherichia coli1–3, Diplococcus pneumoniae4 and Bacillus subtilis5 and may also play an important part in DNA repair6–8, DNA replication9 and cell growth10. ATP-dependent or ATP-stimulated DNases have also been isolated and characterised in other microorganisms11–14. We reported the purification and properties of this enzyme in B. subtilis15,16 and noted that at the 600-fold purification level, the enzyme requires ATP for the hydrolysis of double stranded (ds) DNA, but not for single stranded (ss) DNA16. Since the activities on ds and ssDNA appear to reside in the same enzyme, we suggested the possibility that ATP consumption is somehow linked to the active unwinding of dsDNA before the DNase can hydrolyse phosphodiester bonds16. Recently, Friedman and Smith24 have also proposed an active role of ATP in dsDNA unwinding by Haemophilus influenzae enzyme, which is based on the structural feature of intermediate product DNA. To examine this possibility further, we tried to visualize the unwound portion of DNA and the DNA-enzyme complex by electron microscopy. Although the visual evidence is still ambiguous, an unexpected observation has been made. We report here the unusual property of B. subtilis ATP-DNase which apparently brings DNA molecules into close proximity or causes non-specific ‘pairing’ of dsDNA molecules.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Buttin, G., and Wright, M., Cold Spring Harbor Symp. quant. Biol., 33, 259 (1968).
Oishi, M., Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 64, 1292 (1969).
Barbour, S. D., and Clark, A. J., Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 65, 955 (1970).
Vovis, G. F., and Buttin, G., Biochim. biophys. Acta, 224, 42 (1970).
Chestukhin, A. V., Shemyakin, M. F., Kalinina, N. A., and Prozorov, A. A., FEBS Lett., 24, 121 (1972).
Clark, A. J., A. Rev. Microbiol., 25, 437 (1971).
Cooper, P. K., and Hanawalt, P. C., J. molec. Biol., 67, 1 (1972).
Masker, W. E., and Hanawalt, P. C., Proc. natn. Acad. Sci., 70, 129 (1973).
Brazill, G. W., Hall, R., and Gross, J. D., Nature new Biol., 233, 281 (1971).
Haefner, K., J. Bact., 96, 652 (1968).
Anai, M., Hirahashi, T., and Takagi, Y., J. biol. Chem., 245, 767 (1970).
Friedman, E. A., and Smith, H. O., J. biol. Chem., 247, 2846 (1972).
Winder, F. G., and Lavin, M. F., Biochim. biophys. Acta, 247, 542 (1971).
Anai, M., Seikagaku, 39, 167 (1967).
Sueoka, N., Matsushita, T., Ohi, S., O'Sullivan, A., and White, K., in DNA Synthesis in Vitro, 386–404 (University Park Press, Baltimore).
Ohi, S., and Sueoka, N., J. biol. Chem., 248, 7336 (1973).
Saito, H., and Miura, K., Biochim. biophys. Acta, 72, 619 (1963).
Delius, H., Mantell, N. J., and Alberts, B., J. molec. Biol., 67, 341 (1972).
Sigal, N., Delius, H., Kornberg, T., Gefter, M. L., and Alberts, B., Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 69, 3537 (1972).
Bick, M. D., Lee, C. S., and Thomas, C. A., jun., J. molec. Biol., 71, 1 (1972).
Kleinschmidt, A. K., in Methods in Enzymology, Vol. XII, part B, Nucleic Acids, 361 (1968).
Winder, F. G., and Sastry, P. A., FEBS Lett., 17, 27 (1971).
Shemyakin, M. F., Chestukhin, A. V., Kalinina, N. A., and Prozorov, A. A., FEBS Lett., 31, 31 (1973).
Friedman, E. A., and Smith, H. O., Nature new Biol., 241, 54 (1973).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
OHI, S., BASTIA, D. & SUEOKA, N. Biological Sciences: Non-specific ‘pairing’ of DNA molecules by recombination enzyme of Bacillus subtilis. Nature 248, 586–588 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/248586a0
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/248586a0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.