Mung Bean Nuclease I. Terminally directed hydrolysis of native DNA

Washington D.C.

1976

S. 4463-4467

SonderdruckSerie

10925S

400174973

Under conditions which favor the duplex structure of DNA, mung bean nuclease catalyzes a limited number of double-strand cleavages in the interior of native T7 DNA. However, under conditions which are not as favorable to a tight helical structure, the large duplex polymers previously produced are completely degraded from their termini with a continuous accumulation of mono-, de-, and trinucleaotides. The terminally directed activity is an intrinsic property of the enzyme molecule because it is inactivated and reactivated in parallel with the single-strand activity and the two activities coelectrophorese on analytical gels.