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Mol Cell Biol. 1981 July; 1(7): 600-608

Deoxyribonucleic acid methylation and chromatin organization in Tetrahymena thermophila.

Department of Biology, University of Rochester, New York 14627, USA.

ABSTRACT

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of the transcriptionally active macronucleus of Tetrahymena thermophila is methylated at the N6 position of adenine to produce methyladenine (MeAde); approximately 1 in every 125 adenine residues (0.8 mol%) is methylated. Transcriptionally inert micronuclear DNA is not methylated (< or = 0.01 mol% MeAde; M. A. Gorovsky, S. Hattman, and G. L. Pleger, J. Cell Biol. 56:697-701, 1973). There is no detectable cytosine methylation in macronuclei in Tetrahymena DNA (< or = 0.01 mol% 5-methylcytosine). MeAde-containing DNA sequences in macronuclei are preferentially digested by both staphylococcal nuclease and pancreatic deoxyribonuclease I. In contrast, there is no preferential release of MeAde during digestion of purified DNA. These results indicate that MeAde residues are predominantly located in "linker DNA" and perhaps have a function in transcription. Pulse-chase studies showed that labeled MeAde remains preferentially in linker DNA during subsequent rounds of DNA replication; i.e., there is little, if any, movement of nucleosomes during chromatin replication. This implies that nucleosomes may be phased with respect to DNA sequence.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Lee, S. R., Collins, K. (2006). Two classes of endogenous small RNAs in Tetrahymena thermophila. Genes Dev. 20: 28-33 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Karrer, K. M., VanNuland, T. A. (2002). Methylation of adenine in the nuclear DNA of Tetrahymena is internucleosomal and independent of histone H1. Nucleic Acids Res 30: 1364-1370 [Abstract] [Full Text]