The MvaI restriction endonuclease cuts 5'-CC↓AGG-3'/5'-CC↑TGG-3' sites as indicated by the arrows. N4-methylation of the inner cytosines (C(m4)CAGG/C(m4)CTGG) protects the site against MvaI cleavage. Here, we show that MvaI nicks the G-strand of the related sequence (CCGGG/CCCGG, BcnI site) if the inner cytosines are C5-methylated: C(m5)C↓GGG/CC(m5)CGG. At M.SssI-methylated SmaI sites, where tw...

Strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae were tested for the presence of methyladenine in the DNA sequence GATC by using the site-specific restriction endonucleases MboI and DpnI. It was found that 43 of 83 strains tested contained methylated DNA. When methylation was compared with the auxotype of the organism, 35 of 35 strains with the AHU (arginine-, hypoxanthine-, and uracil-requiring) auxotype and ...

A computer program is described which creates circular and linear genetic maps with or without sequences, performs restriction analysis, and simulates basic molecular cloning operations. Redasoft Plasmid 1.1 is a user-friendly program for Windows 95/98/NT/2000, designed to generate high quality genetic maps for presentation and publication and to aid the molecular biologist in selecting restric...

The entire sequence complexity of the normal maize mitochondrial genome (genotype B37) can be arranged on a circular DNA molecule as found by Lonsdale et al. (1984)

Many proteins that interact with DNA perform or enhance their specific functions by binding simultaneously to multiple target sites, thereby inducing a loop in the DNA. The dynamics and energies involved in this loop formation influence the reaction mechanism. Tethered particle motion has proven a powerful technique to study in real time protein-induced DNA looping dynamics while minimally pert...

Any survey of Type-I1 restriction endonucleases requires a consideration of the various specificities that are the hallmark of these enzymes. The latest compilation of the restriction-enzyme list contains more than 200 enzymes, which exhibit more than 50 unique specificities (Roberts, 1980). Because these enzymes have demonstrated their greatest value as biochemical tools, classification of the...

Splicing by directed ligation (SDL) is a method of in-phase joining of PCR-generated DNA fragments that is based on a pre-designed combination of class IIS restriction endonuclease recognition and cleavage sites. Since these enzymes cleave outside of their recognition sites, the resulting sticky end can have any desired sequence, and the site itself can be removed and does not appear in the fin...

Nucleotide sequence comparison of the related 13513-bp plasmid pFV1 and the 11014-bp plasmid pFZ1 from the thermophilic archaeon Methanobacterium thermoformicicum THF and Z-245, respectively, revealed a homologous, approximately 8.2 kb backbone structure that is interrupted by plasmid-specific elements. Various highly conserved palindromic structures and an ORF that could code for a NTP-binding...

Haloacetaldehydes can be employed for probing unpaired DNA structures involving cytosine and adenine residues. Using an enzyme that was structurally proven to flip its target cytosine out of the DNA helix, the HhaI DNA methyltransferase (M.HhaI), we demonstrate the suitability of the chloroacetaldehyde modification for mapping extrahelical (flipped-out) cytosine bases in protein-DNA complexes. ...

Many proteins can sense the relative orientations of two sequences at distant locations in DNA: some require sites in inverted (head-to-head) orientation, others in repeat (head-to-tail) orientation. Like many restriction enzymes, the BspMI endonuclease binds two copies of its target site before cleaving DNA. Its target is an asymmetric sequence so two sites in repeat orientation differ from si...