T4 endonuclease VII cleaves holliday structures |
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Authors: | Kiyoshi Mizuuchi Börries Kemper John Hays Robert A Weisberg |
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Institution: | 1. Section on Microbial Genetics Laboratory of Molecular Genetics National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Bethesda, Maryland 20205 USA;2. Department of Chemistry University of Maryland, Baltimore County Catonsville, Maryland 21228 USA |
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Abstract: | T4 endonuclease VII cleaves Holliday structures in vitro by cutting two strands of the same polarity at or near the branch point. The two unbranched duplexes produced by cleavage each contain a strand break that can be sealed by DNA ligase. This suggests that the cut sites are at the same position in the nucleotide sequence in each strand. The joint action of endonuclease VII and DNA ligase can therefore resolve Holliday structures into genetically sensible products. These observations account for the role of endonuclease VII in the DNA metabolism of phage T4, and provide the first example of an enzyme that acts specifically on branch points in duplex DNA. |
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Keywords: | To whom reprint requests should be addressed at: Building 6 Room 408 National Institutes of Health Bethesda Maryland 20205 |
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