Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Print PDF (2328K)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Commercial Re-use Guidelines
for Open Access NAR Content
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lilley, D. M.J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Lilley, D. M.J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Nucleic Acids Research, 1981, Vol. 9, No. 6 1271-1290
© 1981

MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Hairpin-loop formation by inverted repeats in supercoiled DNA is a local and transmissible property

David M.J. Lilley

Department of Molecular Genetics, Searle Research Laboratories Lane End Road, High Wycombe, HP12 4HL, UK

Received January 21, 1981. Short inverted repeat sequences adopt hairpin stem-loop type structures in supercoiled closed circular DNA molecules, demonstrated by Sl nuclease cleavage. Fine mapping of cleavage frequencies is in good agreement with expected cleavage patterns based upon the interaction between an unpaired loop and a sterically bulky enzyme molecule. Whilst the topological properties of underwound DNA circles depend ultimately upon reduced linkage, necessarily a global molecular property, hairpin loop formation is an essentially local property. Thus molecular size is unimportant for the Sl hypersensitivity of the ColE1 inverted repeat. Furthermore, a 440 bp Sau3AI, EcoRI fragment of ColE1 which contains the inverted repeat has been cloned into pBR322 where-upon it exhibits Sl cleavage similar to ColE1 in the supercoiled recombinant molecule. The effect is therefore both local and transmissible. Direct competition between inverted repeats in the recombinant, coupled with close examination of flanking sequences, enables some simple ‘rules’ for base pairing in hairpin loops to be formulated. Whilst limited G-T and A-C base pairing appears not to be destabilising, A-G, T-C or loop outs are highly destabilising.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 ScienceHome page
M Groudine and K. Conkin
Chromatin structure and de novo methylation of sperm DNA: implications for activation of the paternal genome
Science, May 31, 1985; 228(4703): 1061 - 1068.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 ScienceHome page
A. Fornace Jr, D. Cummings, C. Comeau, J. Kant, and G. Crabtree
Single-copy inverted repeats associated with regional genetic duplications in gamma fibrinogen and immunoglobulin genes
Science, April 13, 1984; 224(4645): 161 - 164.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.