ARTICLE

[⁶N]METHYL ADENINE IN THE NUCLEAR DNA OF A EUCARYOTE, TETRAHYMENA PYRIFORMIS

Martin A. Gorovsky ¹, Stanley Hattman ¹, and Gloria Lorick Pleger ¹

¹ From the Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627

DNA isolated from macronuclei of the ciliate, Tetrahymena pyriformis, has been found to contain [⁶N]methyl adenine (MeAde); this represents the first clear demonstration of significant amounts of MeAde in the DNA of a eucaryote. The amounts of macronuclear MeAde differed slightly between different strains of Tetrahymena, with approximately 0.65–0.80% of the adenine bases being methylated. The MeAde content of macronuclear DNA did not seem to vary in different physiological states. The level of MeAde in DNA isolated from micronuclei, on the other hand, was quite low (at least tenfold lower than in macronuclear DNA).

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• 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]  
• Blackburn, E.H., Budarf, M.L., Challoner, P.B., Cherry, J.M., Howard, E.A., Katzen, A.L., Pan, W.-C., Ryan, T. (1983). DNA Termini in Ciliate Macronuclei. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol 47: 1195-1207 [Abstract]  
• Rae, P. (1976). Hydroxymethyluracil in eukaryote DNA: a natural feature of the pyrrophyta (dinoflagellates). Science 194: 1062-1064 [Abstract]  
• Holliday, R, Pugh, J. (1975). DNA modification mechanisms and gene activity during development. Science 187: 226-232  

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