Abstract
IN the course of extraction of highly polymerized bacterial deoxyribonucleic acid from Brucella abortus cells first killed with 0.5 per cent phenol and then exposed to sodium deoxycholate, it was discovered that phenol treatment alone results in the recovery of material high in content of deoxyribonucleic acid. The acid isolated by this phenol procedure proved to possess specific transforming activity. Its breakdown products exerted selective effects upon bacterial population changes1,2 ; they also reduced the LD50 of pneumococci for mice2 and enhanced phagocytosis in vitro (Pomales-Lebrón, A., Braun, W., and Stinebring, W., unpublished results); they also stimulated the growth of lymphosarcoma cells in mice. The polymerized material produced antibodies that appear to show a specificity for the deoxyribonucleic acid molecule3. In view of these diverse biological effects, additional details regarding the phenol extraction procedure and some characteristics of the resulting material will be presented here.
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
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Braun, W., and Whallon, J., Proc. U.S. Nat. Acad. Sci., 40, 162 (1954).
Braun, W., Firshein, W., and Whallon, J., Science, 125, 445 (1957).
Phillips, J. H., Braun, W., and Plescia, O. (in the press).
Sevag, M., Lackman, D., and Smolens, J., J. Biol. Chem., 124, 425 (1938).
Stump, P. R., J. Biol. Chem., 169, 367 (1947).
Kay, E. R. M., Simmons, N. S., and Dounce, A. L., J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 74, 1724 (1952).
Webb, J. M., J. Biol. Chem., 221, 635 (1956).
Frick, G., Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 13, 41 (1954).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
BRAUN, W., BURROUS, J. & PHILLIPS, J. A Phenol-extracted Bacterial Deoxyribonucleic Acid. Nature 180, 1356–1357 (1957). https://doi.org/10.1038/1801356a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1801356a0
This article is cited by
-
Antigenicity of DNA of bacteriophages
Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine (1966)
-
Modification of the hereditary character of yeast by ingestion of cell-free extracts
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1960)
-
Antigenicity of a Bacterial Deoxyribonucleic Acid
Nature (1958)
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.
