Specific cleavage and physical mapping of simian-virus-40 DNA by the restriction endonuclease of Arthrobacter luteus.

Simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA (strain 776) is cleaved by the restriction endonuclease from Arthrobacter luteus into 32 specific fragments including 20 large pieces designated Alu-A through T as well as 12 minor products named Alu m1 through m8. These were mapped on the SV40 genome by double digestion experiments. Alu fragments were treated with Hind enzymes and vice versa. Similar reciprocal digestions were also carried out with Hae III enzyme. In this way a detailed cleavage map of the SV40 genome could be constructed.     

Cleavage of single stranded oligonucleotides by EcoRI restriction endonuclease.

The 31mer 5'-TCA ACG CTA GAA TTC GGA TCC ATC GCT TGG T, the complementary 33mer 5'-CCA AGC GAT GGA TCC GAA TTC TAG CGT TGA GAT, the 40mer 5'-GGC CAG GAT GGT GAA GAA TTC GAT CCG GTA CGT AGC TAA G, and the complementary 42mer 5'-TAC TTA GCT ACG TAC CGG ATC GAA TTC TTC ACC ATC CTG GCC were synthesized and their reactivity towards EcoRI was studied. It was found that the 31mer and the 40mer were cleaved at a comparable rate to the 31mer-33mer hybrid and the 40mer-42mer hybrid, respectively. The rate of cleavage of the 33mer and the 42mer was an order of magnitude lower. To rule out possible intermolecular duplex formation, the 33mer was immobilized on cellulose by ligation and labeled with alpha 32P-dCTP using Klenow fragment of E. coli DNA polymerase. EcoRI cleaved this immobilized oligomer into specific fragments.     

A detailed restriction endonuclease site map of theZea mays plastid genome

Fragments produced by partial digestion of plastid DNA fromZea mays withEco RI were cloned in Charon 4A. A circular, fine structure physical map of the plastid DNA was then constructed from restriction endonucleaseSal I,Pst I,Eco RI, andBam HI recognition site maps of cloned overlapping segments of the plastid genome. These fragments were assigned molecular weights by reference to size markers from both pBR322 and lambda phage DNA. Because of the detail and extent of the derived map, it has been possible to construct a coordinate system which has a unique zero point and within which all the restriction fragments and previously described structural features can be mapped. A computer program was constructed which will display in a circular fashion any of the above features using an X-Y plotter.     

Physical map of polyoma viral DNA fragments produced by cleavage with a restriction enzyme from Haemophilus aegyptius, endonuclease R-HaeIII.

Digestion of polyoma viral DNA with a restriction enzyme from Haemophilus aegyptius generates at least 22 unique fragments. The fragments have been characterized with respect to size and physical order on the polyoma genome, and the 5' to 3' orientation of the (+) and (-) strands has been determined. A method for specific radiolabeling of adjacent fragments was employed to establish the fragment order. This technique may be useful for ordering the fragments produced by digestion of complex DNAs.     

Overabundance of rare-cutting restriction endonuclease sites in the human genome.

A human chromosome 3-specific cosmid library was constructed from a somatic cell hybrid containing human chromosome 3 as its only human component. This library was screened to identify 230 human recombinants which contained an average insert size of 37 kilobases. DNA prepared from 54 of these cosmids, representing 2000 kilobases of human DNA, was then tested for restriction endonuclease sites for EcoRI, HindIII, KpnI, XhoI, and DraI, as well as those of the rare-cutting restriction endonucleases NotI, SfiI, NruI, MluI, SacII, and BssHII. Sites for the latter enzymes were much more abundant than would be expected from theoretical calculations, reflecting non-random clustering of these sites. This has important implications for the use of these enzymes in the construction of physical maps of chromosomes. Some individual cosmids contained large numbers of rare sites, offering an alternative means of physically mapping chromosomes based upon identifying clusters of rare restriction sites. These clusters appear to be spaced an average of 1000 kb apart.     

Subunit structure of simian-virus-40 minichromosome.

Electron microscopic evidence indicates that Simian virus 40 (SV40) minichromosomes extracted from infected cells consist of 20 +/- 2 nucleosomes, each containing 190 -- 200 base pairs of DNA. About 50% of the nucleosomes are not close together, but connected by segments of DNA of irregular lengths which correspond to about 15% of the viral genome, irrespective of the ionic strength. Micrococcal nuclease digestion studies show that there is about 200 base pairs of DNA in the biochemical unit of SV40 chromatin. Therefore, the visible internucleosomal DNA of the SV40 minichromosome does not arise from an unfolding of a fraction of the 190 - 200 base pairs of DNA initially wound in the nucleosome. These results support the chromatin model which proposes that the same DNA length is contained in the nucleosome and the biochemical unit. Results from extensive micrococcal nuclease digestion suggest that an SV40 nucleosome consists of a 'core' containing a DNA segment of about 135 base pairs associated to a DNA fragment more susceptible to nuclease attack. The addition of histone H1 results in a striking condensation of the SV40 minichromosome, which supports the assumption that histone H1 is involved in the folding of chromatin fibers.     

EcoRI restriction endonuclease map of the composite R plasmid NR1.

A physical map of the composite R plasmid NR1 has been constructed using specific cleavage of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) by the restriction endonuclease EcoR-. Digestion of composite NR1 DNA by EcoRI yields thirteen fragments. The six largest fragments (designated A to F) are from the resistance transfer factor component that harbors the tetracycline resistance genes (RTF-TC). The seven smallest fragments (designated G to M) are from the r-determinants component that harbors the chloramphenicol (CM), streptomycin-spectinomycin (SM/SP), and sulfonamide (SA) resistance genes. The largest fragment of several RTF-TC segregants of NR1 that have deleted the r-determinants component is 0.8 X 10(6) daltons larger than fragment A of composite NR1. Only a part of fragment H of the r-determinants component is amplified in transitioned NR1 DNA in Proteus mirabilis, which consists of multiple, tandem sequences of r-determinants attached to a single copy of the RTF-TC component. Both of these changes can be explained by the locations of the excision sites at the RTF-TC: r-determinants junctions that are involved in the dissociation and reassociation of the RTF-TC and r-determinants components. The thirteen fragments of composite NR1 DNA produced by EcoRI have been ordered using partial digestion techniques. The order of the fragments is: A-D-C-E-F-B-H-I-L-K-G-M-J. The approximate locations of the TC, CM, SM/SP, and SA resistance genes on the EcoRI map were determined by analyzing several deletion mutants of NR1.     

The restriction endonuclease cleavage map of rat liver mitochondrial DNA.

Mitochondrial DNA from rat liver contains six sites for cleavage by the restriction endonucleases Hind III and EcoRI. A large stretch of DNA, comprising about 40% of the mitochondrial genome is not cleaved by either of the enzymes; eight cleavage sites are located on a DNA stretch of 35% of the genome length suggestive of an unequal distribution of the A - T baspairs over the molecule. The number of Hind III and Eco R I fragments is much higher than reported for other mammalian mitochondrial DNAs up to now.     

Cleavage of phosphorothioated DNA and methylated DNA by the type IV restriction endonuclease ScoMcrA

Many taxonomically diverse prokaryotes enzymatically modify their DNA by replacing a non-bridging oxygen with a sulfur atom at specific sequences. The biological implications of this DNA S-modification (phosphorothioation) were unknown. We observed that simultaneous expression of the dndA-E gene cluster from Streptomyces lividans 66, which is responsible for the DNA S-modification, and the putative Streptomyces coelicolor A(3)2 Type IV methyl-dependent restriction endonuclease ScoA3McrA (Sco4631) leads to cell death in the same host. A His-tagged derivative of ScoA3McrA cleaved S-modified DNA and also Dcm-methylated DNA in vitro near the respective modification sites. Double-strand cleavage occurred 16-28 nucleotides away from the phosphorothioate links. DNase I footprinting demonstrated binding of ScoA3McrA to the Dcm methylation site, but no clear binding could be detected at the S-modified site under cleavage conditions. This is the first report of in vitro endonuclease activity of a McrA homologue and also the first demonstration of an enzyme that specifically cleaves S-modified DNA.     

Cleavage of a model DNA replication fork by a Type I restriction endonuclease

Cleavage of a DNA replication fork leads to fork restoration by recombination repair. In prokaryote cells carrying restriction–modification systems, fork passage reduces genome methylation by the modification enzyme and exposes the chromosome to attack by the restriction enzyme. Various observations have suggested a relationship between the fork and Type I restriction enzymes, which cleave DNA at a distance from a recognition sequence. Here, we demonstrate that a Type I restriction enzyme preparation cleaves a model replication fork at its branch. The enzyme probably tracks along the DNA from an unmethylated recognition site on the daughter DNA and cuts the fork upon encountering the branch point. Our finding suggests that these restriction–modification systems contribute to genome maintenance through cell death and indicates that DNA replication fork cleavage represents a critical point in genome maintenance to choose between the restoration pathway and the destruction pathway.     

A second specific endonuclease from Haemophilus aegyptius.

A second restriction-like endonuclease has been partially purified from Haemophilus aegyptius. This enzyme cleaves bacteriophage λ DNA and adenovirus 2 DNA at many sites, but cleaves simian virus 40 DNA at only one site.     

Cleavage of individual DNA strands by the different subunits of the heterodimeric restriction endonuclease BbvCI

BbvCI cleaves an asymmetric DNA sequence, 5'-CC downward arrow TCAGC-3'/5'-GC downward arrow TGAGG-3', as indicated. While many Type II restriction enzymes consist of identical subunits, BbvCI has two different subunits: R(1), which acts at GC downward arrow TGAGG; and R(2), which acts at CC downward arrow TCAGC. Some mutants of BbvCI with defects in one subunit, either R(1)(-)R(2)(+) or R(1)(+)R(2)(-), cleave only one strand, that attacked by the native subunit. In analytical ultracentrifugation at various concentrations of protein, wild-type and mutant BbvCI enzymes aggregated extensively, but are R(1)R(2) heterodimers at the concentrations used in DNA cleavage reactions. On a plasmid with one recognition site, wild-type BbvCI cleaved both strands before dissociating from the DNA, while the R(1)(-)R(2)(+) and R(1)(+)R(2)(-) mutants acted almost exclusively on their specified strands, albeit at relatively slow rates. During the wild-type reaction, the DNA is cleaved initially in one strand, mainly that targeted by the R(1) subunit. The other strand is then cleaved slowly by R(2) before the enzyme dissociates from the DNA. Hence, the nicked form accumulates as a transient intermediate. This behaviour differs from that of many other restriction enzymes, which cut both strands at equal rates. However, the activities of the R(1)(+) and R(2)(+) subunits in the wild-type enzyme can differ from their activities in the R(1)(+)R(2)(-) and R(1)(-)R(2)(+) mutants. Each active site in BbvCI therefore influences the other.     

A restriction endonuclease cleavage map of bacteriophage P2

Summary A restriction endonuclease cleavage map of phage P2 was constructed. The enzymes used and, within parenthesis, the number of their cleavage sites on the P2 lg cc DNA molecule were: AvaI(3), BalI(1), BamI(3), BglII(3), HaeIII (more than 40; only three were mapped), HindIII(0), HpaI(10), KpnI(3), PstI(3), SalI(2) and SmaI(1). The EcoRI cleavage sites (3), as determined earlier, were used as reference points for this study. The DNAs of a variety of P2 mutants carrying chromosomal aberrations (del1, del2, del3, del6, vir22, vir37(2), vir79 and vir94) were also similarly examined.     

EcoRI restriction endonuclease cleavage site map of bacteriophage P22DNA.

The F plasmid is able to co-transfer (mobilize) the small, chimeric R plasmid pBR322 during conjugation only at a very low frequency (Bolivar et al., 1977). Mobilization has been found here to be invariably (> 99%) associated with a structural alteration of pBR322. The alteration was shown, by restriction endonuclease analysis and electron microscopy, to be an insertion of the F attachment sequence λδ (2.8 to 8.5F). λδ is, therefore, an insertion sequence.     

Altered restriction endonuclease cleavage pattern of simian virus 40 DNA.

Three different groups of temperature-sensitive mutants of simian virus 40, isolated and characterized by Chou and Martin (J. Virol. 13:1101--1109, 1974), have been analyzed by using restriction endonucleases. Differences between the restriction endonuclease cleavage pattern of these mutants and that of the standard simian virus 40 strain have been mapped. These include the following observations: (i) tsD202 carries a defective HaeIII cleavage site at position 0.9 map units; (ii) tsB204 exhibits a defective HaIII site at position 0.21 and a defective HinIII site at 0.655 map units, and (iii) tsC219 carries a new HinIII site at position 0.15. We have isolated a few wild-type revertants from each of the temperature-sensitive mutant strains; each displays the endonuclease cleavage pattern of its parental temperature-sensitive strain.     

A restriction map of the bacteriophage T4 genome

Summary We report a detailed restriction map of the bacteriophage T4 genome and the alignment of this map with the genetic map. The sites cut by the enzymes BglII, XhoI, KpnI, SalI, PstI, EcoRI and HindIII have been localized. Several novel approaches including two-dimensional (double restriction) electrophoretic separations were used.