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The cleavage of Drosophila melanogaster DNA by restriction endonucleases

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Abstract

Drosophila melanogaster DNA, together with λ and E. coli DNAs as controls, was digested with three different restriction endonucleases: EcoRI, Hind, and Hae. The size distributions of the segments were characterized by gel electrophoresis. More than 85% of the D. melanogaster DNA was found in a broad distribution of segment lengths consistent with random location of restriction sites. However, some DNA was spared and recovered in very long (≥20500bp) segments. These segments proved to be mostly simple sequence DNA. No complex spared segments could be found in Hind and Hae digests, while 50% of the spared EcoRI segments had a complexity exceeding that of the E. coli DNA spared by this enzyme. These data do not support the hypothesis that chromomeres contain long regions of purely tandemly repeating sequences.

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  1. Department of Biological Chemistry, Harvard Medical School, Boston

    D. H. Hamer & C. A. Thomas Jr.

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  1. D. H. Hamer
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  2. C. A. Thomas Jr.
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Hamer, D.H., Thomas, C.A. The cleavage of Drosophila melanogaster DNA by restriction endonucleases. Chromosoma 49, 243–267 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00361069

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