Attempted separation of transcriptively active and inactive chromatin by hydroxylapatite thermal chromatography

Chromatin and purified DNA were fractionated by hydroxylapatite thermal chromatography. Fractions of varying thermal stability were tested for the proportions of transcribed sequences and repetitive sequences relative to the unfractionated genome. The first 80--85% of either total chromatin or purified DNA eluted from hydroxylapatite contained the same proportion of hybridizable sequences as total DNA. The remaining 15--20% of chromatin eluting at the highest temperatures was depleted of transcribed sequences. Analysis of the 20% highest melting fraction of purified DNA showed that, while the first two-thirds of this fraction contained the same proportion of transcribed sequences as unfractionated DNA, the last third, comprising about 6% of total DNA, was depleted of active sequences. Although no major differences were detected in nonrepetitive sequence complexity of chromatin fractions, there was a correlation between relative thermal stability and repetitive sequence content in fractions of both chromatin and DNA separated by thermal chromatography. Fragments eluting at higher temperatures contained a greater proportion of repetitive sequences, as indicated by a rapidly renaturing component. Most likely, the latest eluting fractions from both chromatin and purified DNA were enriched for a nontranscribed, highly reiterated, G+C rich satellite component of the chicken genome.