Theory agrees with experimental thermal denaturation of short DNA restriction fragments

Experimental melting transitions of several natural DNAs of known nucleotide sequences have recently been obtained. The differential melting curves of these DNAs-phi X174 DNA, fd DNA and SV40 DNA-all show distinctive sets of peaks or fine structure. Theoretical melting curves calculated from the sequences and a few a priori parameters have not accurately predicted the experimental transitions. Although calculated fine structure resembled experimental curves in some cases, the characteristic features of a DNA's differential melting curve could not generally be produced. Azbel and Gabbarro-Arpa et al. have recently obtained good agreement between calculated and experimental curves using a different theoretical approach-only ground-state configurations of DNA were considered for temperatures inside the transition region. Their results suggest that the basic model of DNA melting, common to all theoretical approaches, is accurate. We have used here an exact theoretical approach to calculated melting curves of four DNA restriction fragments of 95-301 base pairs containing the lactose promoter region (Fig. 1). Theoretical curves agree very well with the experimental transitions published by Hardies et al. and obtained in this laboratory.     

Quantitative investigation on the possible losses of nucleic acids from ‘freeze-substituted’ tissue in the course of histological procedure

Résumé Les auteurs ont déterminé le contenu en acides nucléiques dans le foie du rat après la congélation-dessication dans du méthanol. Après cette technique, une grande partie de DNA était soluble dans l'eau.      

Dystrophic mutation (dy2J) affecting regulation of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and pyruvate kinase (PK) in C57BL/6J mice

Summary The genotype difference (dystrophic vs nondystrophic) in the LDH isozymes is observed in kidney. These differences are evident only at birth and at early developmental stages (before the expression of dystrophic symptoms). The tissue specific genotype differences for PK are limited to the thigh muscle (M form) and heart (L form), after the onset of the condition. These differences may reflect the pleiotropic effect of the dy^2J locus during the temporal regulation of these and other enzymes implicated in muscular dystrophy (MD).This research was financed by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Canada grant to S.M.S.     

Dimethyloxarsylethanol from anaerobic decomposition of brown kelp (Ecklonia radiata): A likely precursor of arsenobetaine in marine fauna

Summary The novel arsenic compound, dimethyloxarsylethanol, has been isolated from anaerobically incubatedEcklonia radiata. It is proposed that this compound has a key position in the biosynthesis of arsenobetaine.C, H microanalyses were performed by the Australian Microanalytical Service.