Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.1.30.2 (endonuclease)
 18,621 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The high rate of evolution of mitochondrial DNA makes this molecule suitable for genealogical research on such closely related species as humans and apes. Because previous approaches failed to establish the branching order of the lineages leading to humans, gorillas, and chimpanzees, we compared human mitochondrial DNA to mitochondrial DNA from five species of ape (common chimpanzee, pygmy chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan, and gibbon). About 50 restriction endonuclease cleavage sites were mapped in each mitochondrial DNA, and the six maps were aligned with respect to 11 invariant positions. Differences among the maps were evident at 121 positions. Both conserved and variable sites are widely dispersed in the mitochondrial genome. Besides site differences, ascribed to point mutations, there is evidence for one rearrangement: the gorilla map is shorter than the other owing to the deletion of 95 base pairs near the origin of replication. The parsimony method of deriving all six maps from a common ancestor produced a genealogical tree in which the common and pygmy chimpanzee maps are the most closely related pair; the closest relative of this pair is the gorilla map; most closely related to this trio is the human map. This tree is only slightly more parsimonious than some alternative trees. Although this study has given a magnified view of the genetic differences among humans and apes, the possibility of a three-way split among the lineages leading to humans, gorillas, and chimpanzees still deserves serious consideration.
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PMID:Evolutionary tree for apes and humans based on cleavage maps of mitochondrial DNA. 626 76

We have cloned the complete genome of an oncogenic primate retrovirus, the San Francisco isolate of gibbon ape leukemia virus, in a lambda phage vector. DNA sequence analysis and restriction endonuclease mapping of the inserted linear provirus demonstrated 9-base pair inverted repeats at its ends, flanking direct terminal repeats 470 base pairs in length. The (-) strong stop region of this DNA showed surprisingly low sequence homology to that of another gibbon ape leukemia virus isolate from an animal with similar disease. Analysis of the clone also revealed the terminal phosphate configuration of the linear provirus. The recombinant phage is suitable for direct use as a hybridization probe to detect homologous retroviral sequences in human cell lines.
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PMID:Molecular cloning and partial characterization of unintegrated linear DNA from gibbon ape leukemia virus. 627 Jun 62

Extrachromosomal DNA was purified from canine thymus cells acutely infected with different strains of infectious primate type C viruses of the woolly monkey (simian) sarcoma helper virus and gibbon ape leukemia virus group. All DNA preparations contained linear proviral molecules of 9.1 to 9.2 kilobases, at least some of which represent complete infectious proviral DNA. Cells infected with a replication-defective fibroblast-transforming sarcoma virus and its helper, a replication-competent nontransforming helper virus, also contained a 6.6- to 6.7-kilobase DNA. These proviral DNA molecules were digested with different restriction endonucleases, and the resultant fragments were oriented to the viral RNA by a combination of partial digestions, codigestion with more than one endonuclease, digestion of integrated proviral DNA, and hybridization with 3'- and 5'-specific viral probes. The 3'- and 5'-specific probes each hybridized to fragments from both ends of proviral DNA, indicating that, in common with those of other retroviruses, these proviruses contain a large terminal redundancy at both ends, each of which consists of sequences derived from both the 3' and 5' regions of the viral RNA. The proviral sequences are organized 3',5'-unique-3',5'. Four restriction enzymes (KpnI, SmaI, PstI, and SstI) recognized sites within the large terminal redundancies, and these sites were conserved within all the isolates tested. This suggests that both the 3' and 5' ends of the genomic RNA of these viruses are extremely closely related. In contrast, the restriction sites within the unique portion of the provirus were not strongly conserved within this group of viruses, even though they were related along most of their genomes. Whereas the 5' 60 to 70% of the RNA of these viruses was more closely related by liquid hybridization experiments than was the 3' 30 to 40%, restriction sites within this region were not preferentially conserved, suggesting that small sequence differences or point mutations or both exist throughout the entire unique portion of the genome among these viruses.
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PMID:Comparative restriction endonuclease maps of proviral DNA of the primate type C simian sarcoma-associated virus and gibbon ape leukemia virus group. 628 21

We have used human male-specific 3.4 kb Hae III restriction endonuclease fragments to explore the evolutionary history of man's Y-chromosome. We have identified four sets of reiterated sequences on the basis of their relative sequence homology with autosomal DNA. The sequences account for approximately 40% of the human Y-chromosome, are interspersed within the same 3.4 kb Hae III fragments, are heterogeneous and contain all reiterated DNA previously demonstrated to be specific for the Y-chromosome (it-Y DNA). Y-specific 3.4 kb Hae III sequences do not reassociate with either human female or ape DNA at standard reassociation criteria. However, approximately half of it-Y DNA (cross reacting it-Y) reassociates with both human female and ape DNA at reduced reassociation criteria. The remaining half (Y-specific it-Y) retains its specificity for the human Y-chromosome. These two sets of it-Y DNA have distinct reiteration frequencies and thermal stabilities with their Y-chromosome homologs. Non-Y-specific 3.4 kb Hae III sequences reassociate with both human female and ape DNA at standard reassociation criteria. The abundance of these non-Y-specific sequences decreases as a function of their evolutionary distance for man. One subset of non-Y-specific 3.4 kb Hae III sequences forms stable duplexes with human Y-chromosome DNA and with human and ape autosomal DNA. No detectable base-mismatch occurs among these homologs suggesting complete conservation of these sequences during primate evolution. The second subset of Non-Y-specific Hae III sequences form stable duplexes with human Y-chromosome DNA but highly mismatched duplexes with human and ape autosomal DNA. The finding that homologs of 3.4 kb Hae III sequences are not found within the Y-chromosome of apes but are only present in autosomes suggests that 3.4 kb Hae III sequences are largely autosomal in origin. Since autosomal homologs of most 3.4 kb Hae III-sequences exhibit a greater degree of divergence that those localized to the Y-chromosome, their evolutionary history seems to be chromosome-dependent. Our findings are not easily correlated with the comparative morphology of primate Y-chromosomes and suggest that sequence rearrangement has been a major event in the evolution of the human Y-chromosome. The significance of the specific interspersion of four sets of reiterated sequences, with distinct evolutionary histories, within a repeating unit specific to the human Y-chromosome is not clear. The apparent conservation of at least some of these reiterated sequences suggests they may be of functional importance.
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PMID:Evolution of human Y-chromosome DNA. 629 77

Closed circular unintegrated DNA of the SEATO strain of gibbon ape leukemia virus (GaLV-S) was isolated from canine thymus fibroblasts after cocultivation with chronically infected bat lung fibroblasts. Restriction endonuclease HindIII cleaves GaLV-S DNA once, thus allowing isolation and cloning of HindIII-digested unintegrated DNA in a permitted form. Two clones isolated in the vector, Charon 21A, were nearly identical by restriction enzyme mapping to each of the two types of GaLV-S previously observed. These two types differ at a single SalI site. Unlike previous maps of GaLV-S proviral DNA, however, both clones lack SstI sites in the long-terminal-repeat units. Both the GaLV-S clones and the major species of GaLV-S proviral DNA contain an EcoRI site in the long-terminal-repeat units. The presence of this EcoRI site and the absence of an SstI site in the GaLV-S long-terminal-repeat units differentiate it from all other known GaLV strains and from the closely related nononcogenic simian sarcoma-associated virus. Heteroduplex comparisons of each of the two clones to clones of simian sarcoma-associated virus show no obvious deletion or substitution loops. This suggests that the ability of GaLV-S to induce myeloid leukemia in gibbon apes in not due to an acquired onc gene.
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PMID:Molecular cloning of circular unintegrated DNA of two types of the SEATO strain of gibbon ape leukemia virus. 629 90

Nine newly described single-copy and low-copy-number genomic DNA sequences isolated from a flow-sorted human Y chromosome library were mapped to regions of the human Y chromosome and were hybridized to Southern blots of male and female great ape genomic DNAs (Gorilla gorilla, Pan troglodytes, Pongo pygmaeus). Eight of the nine sequences mapped to the euchromatic Y long arm (Yq) in humans, and the ninth mapped to the short arm or pericentromeric region. All nine of the newly identified sequences and two additional human Yq sequences hybridized to restriction fragments in male but not female genomic DNA from the great apes, indicating Y chromosome localization. Seven of these 11 human Yq sequences hybridized to similarly-sized restriction endonuclease fragments in all the great ape species analyzed. The five human sequences that mapped to the most distal subregion of Yq (deletion of which region is associated with spermatogenic failure in humans) were hybridized to Southern blots generated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. These sequences define a region of approximately 1 Mb on human Yq in which HpaII tiny fragment (HTF) islands appear to be absent. The conservation of these human Yq sequences on great ape Y chromosomes indicates a greater stability in this region of the Y than has been previously described for most anonymous human Y chromosomal sequences. The stability of these sequences on great ape Y chromosomes seems remarkable given that this region of the Y does not undergo meiotic recombination and the sequences do not appear to encode genes for which positive selection might occur.
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PMID:Conservation of human Y chromosome sequences among male great apes: implications for the evolution of Y chromosomes. 806 69

The defenses against free radical damage include specialized repair enzymes that correct oxidative damage in DNA and detoxification systems such as superoxide dismutases (SODs). These defenses may be coordinated genetically as global responses. We hypothesized that the expression of SOD and DNA repair genes would inhibit DNA damage under oxidative stress. Therefore, protection of Escherichia coli mutants deficient in SOD and DNA repair genes (sod-, xth-, and nfo-) was demonstrated by transforming the mutant strain with a plasmid pYK9 that encoded Photobacterium leiognathi CuZnSOD and human AP endonuclease. The results show that survival rates were increased in sod+ xth- nfo+ cells compared with sod- xth- ape-, sod- xth- ape-, and sod+ xth- ape- cells under oxidative stress generated with 0.1 mM paraquat or 3 mM H2O2. The data suggest that, at the least, SOD and DNA repair enzymes may collaborate on protection and repair of damaged DNA. Additionally, both enzymes are required for protection against free radicals.
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PMID:Collaborative effects of Photobacterium CuZn superoxide dismutase (SODs) and human AP endonuclease in DNA repair and SOD-deficient Escherichia coli under oxidative stress. 1474 29