Evidence for covalent binding between phosphopeptides and terminal deoxynucleotides in highly purified calf thymus DNA

Summary Highly purified DNA from calf thymus nuclei (N-DNA) was found to cleave after reaction with a chelating agent and subsequent dialysis. During the cleavage phosphopeptides (PPs) were released into the dialysates. At the end of the cleavage, approximately one half of the PP material remained with the DNA. Since it was so strongly bound, it was considered to be retained in the DNA structure by covalent bonding. In order to confirm this, a commercial DNA (S-DNA) was ultrasonicated and digested with pancreatic DNAase, exonuclease III, and S1 nuclease. DEAE Sephacel chromatography of the digested material yielded 5 fractions. The fraction 2, having the highest proportion of proteinaceous material, was digested with Pronase. Amino acid analysis of the hydrolysis mixture yielded phosphoserine (Pser), asp, thr, ser, glu, gly, ala, val, ile, leu, and arg. The mixture was chromatographed again on DEAE Sephacel. From this a single fraction, number 5, was found to contain both deoxynucleotides and the amino acids, Pser, asp, ser, glu, and gly in a molar ratio of > 7:3:2:2:5. The mixture obtained by hydrolysis of this fraction with snake venom diesterase was again chromatographed on DEAE Sephacel. This fractionation gave two main peaks, one corresponding to the same 5 amino acids and the other to deoxynucleotide material. From this it was concluded that the fraction used for diesterase digestion consisted of deoxynucleotide-amino acids, with covalent diester bonds between the deoxynucleotide and amino acid portions.Dedicated to Prof. L.E. Feinendegen on the occasion of his 60th birthday