Metallic work is one of the widespread economic activities in urban Kano. Little or no attention is usually directed at occupational health risk by local or state authorities in Kano. The present work was aimed at the evaluation of DNA damage in metal workers by Alkaline Comet Assay in blood lymphocytes. The results showed that there was significant difference statistically between the level of...

DNA bending induced by six DNA (cytosine-5) methyltransferases was studied using circular permutation gel mobility shift assay. The following bend angles were obtained: M.BSP:RI (GG(m5)CC), 46-50 degrees; M.HAE:III (GG(m5)CC), 40-43 degrees; M.SIN:I (GGW(m5)CC), 34-37 degrees; M.SAU:96I (GGN(m5)CC), 52-57 degrees; M.HPA:II (C(m5)CGG), 30 degrees; and M.HHA:I (G(m5)CGC), 13 degrees. M. HAE:III w...

The ability of single-stranded DNA oligomers to form adjacent triplex and duplex domains with two DNA structural motifs was examined. Helix-coil transition curves and a gel mobility shift assay were used to characterize the interaction of single-stranded oligomers 12-20 nt in length with a DNA hairpin and with a DNA duplex that has a dangling end. The 12 nt on the 5'-ends of the oligomers could...

A novel algorithmic approach to the synthesis of fairly long DNA molecules with nonrecurring sequences is demonstrated. The scheme exploits chemical embodiment of shift registers (SR) to execute algorithms similar to those used to generate pseudorandom numbers on a computer. Single stranded DNA molecules guide the synthesis of double stranded DNA according to the SR truth table. The SR logic fa...

A gel mobility shift assay was developed to examine recognition of yeast telomeres by telomerase. An RNase-sensitive G-rich strand-specific binding activity can be detected in partially purified yeast telomerase fractions. The binding activity was attributed to telomerase, because it co-purifies with TLC1 RNA and telomerase activity over three different chromatographic steps and because the com...

The nahR gene of plasmid NAH7 of Pseudomonas putida encodes a 36-kilodalton polypeptide which activates transcription of the nah and sal operons in response to the inducer salicylate. A gel mobility shift assay was used to identify a DNA-binding activity which was present only in extracts from either P. putida or Escherichia coli containing a functional nahR gene. The binding activity was highl...

We have identified the auxin-responsive region (Aux-RR) of the parA promoter; it is derived from a gene that is induced by auxin in tobacco mesophyll protoplasts. By analyses of gain-of-function and point mutations in transgenic tobacco plants, we showed that an as-1-like sequence was required, but not alone sufficient, for auxin responsiveness of the parA promoter, as has been also shown for t...