PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R C Pless

Publications and source records attributed to R C Pless.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Elimination of band compression in sequencing gels by the use of N4-methyl-2'-deoxycytidine 5'-triphosphate.

Taq DNA polymerase, Sequenase, and the large fragment of E.coli polymerase I effectively utilize N4-methyl-2'-deoxycytidine 5'-triphosphate (N4-methyl-dCTP) in the place of dCTP in dideoxynucleotide terminator sequencing reactions on single-stranded templates. When the resulting fragment mixtures are resolved on sequencing gels, they are found to be free of band compressions even in cases where such compressions remain unresolved by the substitution of 7-deaza-dGTP for dGTP. Sequencing reactions using N4-methyl-dCTP instead of dCTP are somewhat more prone to false stops than are sequencing reactions using 7-deaza-dGTP instead of dGTP; this difference is more pronounced when sequencing with Sequenase at 37 degrees C than when sequencing with Taq DNA polymerase at 72 degrees C. For the three polymerases investigated, replacement of dCTP by N4-methyl-dCTP does not fundamentally change the characteristic variations in band intensities seen in the C-lane. N4-methyl-dCTP can also be used for sequencing double-stranded DNA and for DNA amplification by the polymerase chain reaction.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Sequence analysis of end-labeled DNA fragments by solvolysis in aqueous solutions of different amines.

Cleavage of 3'-end-labeled DNA in hot aqueous solutions of different amines is comparatively examined for overall rate of DNA scission as well as for potential differences in the preference of the various amines for cleavage at the different bases. Under comparable conditions (0.5 M amine, 0.3 M NaCl, 90 degrees C), piperidine, diethylamine, morpholine, and ethylenediamine produce the same set of labeled fragments, at approximately equal overall cleavage rates. The same set of fragments is also obtained with diisopropylamine, triethylamine, and 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane, but at markedly lower overall cleavage rates. Solvolysis in aqueous piperidine or aqueous diethylamine leads to DNA scission predominantly at A sites, followed by G and C sites, and least frequently at T sites. In contrast, morpholine, ethylenediamine, diisopropylamine, triethylamine, and diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane cleave the DNA predominantly at G sites. Therefore, use of one of the latter amines allows clear distinction of G bands and C bands, which could not be distinguished by the criterion of band intensity in the original one-lane sequencing method based on cleavage in hot aqueous piperidine (B. Ambrose and R. Pless (1985) Biochemistry 24, 6194-6200). The effect of varying the salt concentration on the cleavage distribution obtained with various amines is also examined, and a rationale is given for the influence of salt concentration and amine basicity on the relative rate of cleavage at G sites.

Amines↗
PubMed1988

Sequence analysis of end-labeled DNA fragments by solvolysis in hot aqueous piperidine solutions.

One-lane DNA sequencing by solvolysis in hot aqueous piperidine solutions, originally described for 5'-32P-labeled DNA (B. Ambrose and R. Pless (1985) Biochemistry 24, 6194-6200), is extended to 3'-labeled fragments. A salt-free sample for electrophoresis can be obtained by using 1 M LiCl in the solvolysis mixture and removing this salt from the dried hydrolysate by washing with ethanol. Rate and distribution of DNA cleavage in hot aqueous piperidine, containing 0.3 M NaCl, are studied in dependence of temperature, solvent, amine concentration, and reaction time. An increase in temperature strongly accelerates overall DNA degradation, but leaves the distribution of cleavage essentially unchanged. When 50% aqueous ethanol is substituted for water as the reaction solvent, the overall cleavage is slower, and scission at G-sites is enhanced relative to cleavage at the other bases. A rise in the piperidine concentration strongly accelerates the reaction, except at very high amine concentration. Cleavage at A-, G-, and C-sites increases steadily with reaction time, while the T-cleavage observed takes place primarily at the very beginning of the solvolysis.

Autoradiography↗
PubMed1988

Reactivity of pyrimidine nucleosides under the conditions of the pyrimidine sequencing reactions of Maxam and Gilbert.

Several pyrimidine nucleosides and polydeoxyribonucleotides have been examined with respect to their ultraviolet absorption spectra and the kinetics of their decomposition under the conditions used in the C- and (C + T)-specific treatments of the sequencing procedure of Maxam and Gilbert. In hydrazine-water (56:44, v/v), at 20 degrees C, thymidine was found to be virtually fully ionized. Under these conditions, the susceptibility to hydrazinolysis decreased in the order N3-methylthymidine greater than uridine approximately equal to deoxyuridine greater than deoxycytidine approximately equal to polydeoxycytidylate greater than polythymidylate much greater than thymidine greater than 5-methyldeoxycytidine. Addition of sodium chloride to 1.5 M slightly accelerated hydrazinolysis of those nucleosides bearing nonionizable heterocyclic moieties and retarded hydrazinolysis severalfold for those nucleosides containing an ionizable aglycone (thymidine, deoxyuridine, uridine). It is concluded that the nucleosides of this latter class react with hydrazine largely or exclusively in their nonionized form and that the main effect of added salt is increased ionization of the heterocycles, resulting in a decreased population of nonionized nucleosides.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1986

One-lane sequence analysis of oligodeoxyribonucleotides.

Treatment of 5'-end 32P-labeled oligodeoxyribonucleotides with 0.4 M aqueous piperidinium formate, pH 2, at 37 degrees C for 6 h, followed by treatment with 1 M aqueous piperidine at 90 degrees C for 6 h, produces, after electrophoresis through 27% polyacrylamide sequencing gels, one-dimensional distributions of radioactivity from which the base sequences can be deduced. The order of intensities for the bands signaling the various bases is G greater than A greater than C greater than T. The spacing from a given band to the next higher band in the ladder was base characteristic, the order of band spacings being G greater than T greater than or equal to A greater than C. In contrast to the one-cleavage one-lane DNA sequencing method reported earlier (B. J. B. Ambrose and R. C. Pless, 1985, Biochemistry 24, 6194-6200), which was based on treatment of end-labeled DNA with hot aqueous piperidine in the presence of sodium chloride, the present method produces a salt-free hydrolysate, thus minimizing electrophoretic irregularities in the fastest moving bands.

Autoradiography↗
PubMed1985

Analysis of DNA sequences using a single chemical cleavage procedure.

A novel approach to sequence analysis of end-labeled, defined DNA fragments, using a single chemical cleavage procedure and electrophoretic separation in a single lane, has been developed. Prolonged treatment with hot aqueous piperidine results in partial cleavage of the DNA at all positions; the relative propensity for this cleavage is different for the various bases in the DNA. The hydrolysate is resolved on a DNA sequencing gel, and the distribution of radioactivity in the electrophoretic lane is analyzed (a) in terms of differential peak heights of the radioactive bands and (b) in terms of the spacings between successive bands. Simultaneous application of these two base-characteristic criteria allows the deduction of the nucleotide sequence with an accuracy approaching that of the established four-lane methods of DNA sequencing.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1983

Influence of local nucleotide sequence on substitution of 2-aminopurine for adenine during deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis in vitro.

Three highly purified DNA polymerases, Escherichia coli polymerase I (enzyme A) and the polymerases induced by wild-type T4 phage and by T4 phage mutant L141 (antimutator phenotype), have been examined with respect to their tendency to incorporate the deoxyribonucleotide of 2-aminopurine [(AP)] for deoxyadenylate at specific sites in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Using phi X174 phage DNA as a template and selected phi X174 restriction fragments as specific primers, we synthesized short sequences of phi X174 DNA in vitro by the polymerase of interest, with the 5'-triphosphate of 2-aminopurine deoxyriboside and dATP at equimolar concentration. The relative incorporation of (AP) at the various adenine sites was determined by providing the newly synthesized DNA fragment with a specific terminal radioactive label, subjecting the DNA fragment to thermal depurination as a DNA cleavage reaction highly selective for (AP), and analyzing the resulting radioactive fragments by denaturing gel electrophoresis, autoradiography, and microdensitometry. The L141 polymerase shows very pronounced site-dependent variations in (AP) incorporation. For the wild-type T4 polymerase, the pattern of (AP) incorporation follows the biases seen for the L141 enzyme, although in a less pronounced form. Sequence preferences for (AP) incorporation are least marked for E. coli polymerase I (enzyme A); in several instances, they run counter to the sequence biases observed with the T4 enzymes. For the enzyme showing the most pronounced sequence effects, L141 polymerase, the extent of (AP) incorporation was determined at 57 different sites. No simple principle governing the sequence dependence of (AP) incorporation could be deduced from these results.

2-Aminopurine↗
PubMed1981

Nonrandom substitution of 2-aminopurine for adenine during deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis in vitro.

The incorporation of the deoxyribonucleotide of 2-aminopurine [(AP)] for deoxyadenylate into deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in vitro has been examined by using five highly purified DNA polymerases: calf thymus polymerase alpha, Escherichia coli polymerase I, and the polymerases induced by T4 phage mutant L56 (mutator phenotype), wild-type T4 phage, and T4 phage mutant L141 (antimutator phenotype). On a template of gapped salmon sperm DNA, the overall incorporation of (AP) relative to the incorporation of adenine decreases in this series of enzymes, in line with the increasing 3'-exonucleolytic activity associated with these polymerases. The nearest-neighbor distributions for (AP) and for adenine in the newly synthesized DNA were determined to test for potential sequence selectivity in the incorporation of (AP). In polymerizations in which d(AP)TP fully replaced dATP, the L141 polymerase, and to a lesser degree the wild type T4 polymerase, synthesized a DNA in which the distribution for (AP) was distinctly skewed compared to the nearest-neighbor distribution observed for adenine; incorporation of (AP) was relatively favored after guanine and disfavored after adenine and thymine. These sequence effects were less pronounced in syntheses in which both dATP and d(AP)TP were present. When dGTP was replaced by dITP, or dTTP by dUTP, adenine was still incorporated to the normal extent after the analogue, but the incorporation of (AP) was reduced after these analogues, which form weaker base pairs. The results indicate that incorporation of (AP) is disfavored with all polymerases tested and that a greater bias exists with those polymerases containing an active 3'-exonuclease. This bias against (AP) incorporation is alleviated after strong base pairs, and particularly following guanine, possibly due to stabilizing vertical stacking interactions.

2-Aminopurine↗
PubMed1977

Duplex formation of a nonionic oligo(deoxythymidylate) analogue (heptadeoxythymidylyl-(3'-5')-deoxythymidine heptaethyl ester (d-(Tp(Et))7T)) with poly(deoxyadenylate). Evaluation of the electrostatic interaction.

The heptaethyl ester of heptadeoxythymidylyl-(3'-5')-deoxythymidine (d-[Tp(Et)]7T or d-T8-Et) has been prepared by chemical methods. The material, consisting of a mixture of diastereoisomers, forms a 1:1 complex with (dA)n in neutral aqueous buffer; this interaction is virtually independent of ionic strength. The octamer triester does not bind to (dA)n-(dT)n, and it interacts with (rA)n only at low temperatures. By cochromatography with (dA)n on Sephadex G-50, d-T8-Et fractions with different binding affinities for the polyadenylates were obtained. This heterogeneity in binding affinity is ascribed to the diastereoisomerism of d-T8-Et. Enthalpies of dupoex formation were determined by the concentration variation method. At 0.1 M sodium ion concentration, the enthalpy of binding of the various d-T8-Et fractions to (dA)n is essentially invariant (-8.1 kcal/mol of base pairs at 0 degrees C to -8.6 kcal at 25 degrees C) and 1.6 kcal/mol of base pairs more negative than the enthalpy of binding of the phosphodiester analogue, d-(Tp)7T, to (dA)n (-6.8 kcal/mol of base pairs at 11 degrees C). This difference is the electrostatic contribution to the enthalpy of duplex formation, arising from the interstrand electrostatic repulsion and the intrastrand repulsion in d-(Tp)7T. The entropy of binding to (dA)n is more negative for the octamer triesters than for the diester analogue, and is different for the various d-T8-Et fractions. This is interpreted in terms of varying degrees of restriction of rotational freedom for the ethyl substituents upon double helix formation.

Chromatography, Gel↗
PubMed1975

Solid support synthesis of oligothymidylates using phosphorochloridates and 1-alkylimidazoles.

A study of the synthesis of oligothymidylates via phosphotriester intermediates on a polystyrene support is described. The sequence involves condensation of a phenyl nucleoside-3' -phosphorochloridate with the 5'-hydroxyl group of the carrier bound oligonucleotide derivative in the presence of 1-methylimidazole. Conditions for preparation of the phenyl nucleo-side phosphorochloridate as well as for the condensation on the support are discussed. d-TpTpTpT was obtained in 31% overall yield from carrier bound thymidine in one series of experiments, and d-TpTpTpTpT was obtained in 9% yield in another. The cycle for addition of one nucleotide unit can be completed in about six hours.

Chlorine↗