Related Experiment Videos
alpha-Terthienyl photosensitizes damage to pBR322 DNA
T P Wang1, J Kagan, R W Tuveson
1Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, Chicago 60680.
Photochemistry and Photobiology
|April 1, 1991
Abstract:
alpha-Terthienyl photosensitizes single strand breaks in pBR322 DNA. Almost identical results were observed under oxygen and under argon. In the presence of oxygen, this DNA nicking was enhanced by histidine and was not affected by superoxide dismutase, catalase, or the antioxidant BHT. Although chemical damage to DNA treated with alpha-terthienyl plus near-UV was clearly demonstrated in vitro, transformation in E. coli with this damaged pBR322 DNA still took place. Likewise, Haemophilus influenzae DNA transforming activity was not significantly decreased by photosensitization with alpha-terthienyl.