Adenine plus thymine and guanine plus cytosine enriched fractions of animal DNA's as indicators of polynucleotide homologies

In situ hybridization of repetitive monkey genome sequences isolated from defective simian virus 40 DNA

The origin of a repetitive monkey DNA sequence that is incorporated into a defective simian virus 40 genome has been studied. A fragment (about 140 base pairs in length) containing essentially all the repetitive monkey DNA present in the defective and few, if any, SV40 sequences can be cleaved from the purified defective DNA by restriction endonucleases Hind(II and III). Radioactive cRNA prepared with the isolated fragment as template was hybridized in situ to African green monkey chromosomes. The results indicate that all or part of the sequence in question occurs at both centromeric and noncentromeric positions in many, but not all, chromosomes. Of the typical 60 chromosomes, between nine and eleven hybridize with the cRNA in noncentromeric regions.

Evolution of higher-organism DNA

A great deal of information about evolutionary events and processes has been inferred from careful studies of fossil records. Other forms of evidence have also contributed greatly to the understanding of evolution. Comparative biochemistry (Florkin, 1949), immunology (Boyden, 1942), protein sequencing (Dayoff, 1969; Anfinsen, 1959), and early DNA studies (McCarthy & Bolton, 1963; Schildkraut, Marmur & Doty, 1961) have for the most part corroborated earlier evolutionary findings, and at the same time provided new understanding of molecular processes in evolution. Of these approaches the comparison of DNA seems most promising since a relatively precise quantitative comparison can be made of all of the genetic material of different species.

A molecular time scale for human evolution

We discuss published molecular evidence concerning the relationship of man to African apes and Old World monkeys. Quantitative comparisons of their serum albumins, transferrins, hemoglobins, and DNA show that man is genetically much more similar to the African apes than to the Old World monkeys. The amino acid sequences of hemoglobins from humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and rhesus monkeys are consistent with the hypothesis that the probability of an amino acid substitution occurring in a given interval of time is the same for every hemoglobin lineage. This allows the use of these data as a hemoglobin evolutionary clock, just as we have previously done with the albumins. It is shown that concordance exists between the hemoglobin and albumin results and that both support the suggestion that the human lineage diverged from that leading to the African apes far more recently than is generally supposed. Considering both the albumin and hemoglobin data, we would set the most probable date at 4 to 5 million years.

Homologies of deoxyribonucleic acids from Brucella ovis, canine abortion organisms, and other Brucella species

The bacterium that causes canine abortion has polynucleotide sequences similar, in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-DNA homology studies, to those of Brucella suis and, by inference from previous data, those of B. abortus and B. melitensis as well as B. neotomae. Therefore, the organism causing canine abortion appears to be a member of the genus Brucella. DNA preparations from Serratia marcescens, Alcaligenes faecalis, and Bordetella bronchiseptica, 58, 62, and 66 mole% guanine plus cytosine, respectively, do not have detectable polynucleotide sequence homologies with B. suis DNA which is 56 mole% guanine plus cytosine. B. ovis DNA lacks some of the polynucleotide sequences present in B. suis DNA and appears to be a deletion mutant. However, a large proportion of B. ovis polynucleotides are similar to those of other Brucella species, which supports the inclusion of B. ovis in the genus.

The coparison of closely related groups of rodents by DNA-DNA annealing

Within the genus Apodemus, DNA from A. sylvaticus and A. flavicollis could be distinguished on the basis of reciprocal DNA/DNA annealing in agar, even when unfractionated DNA was used. In preliminary experiments, DNA from geographical races of A. sylvaticus could not be distinguished, nor could DNA from two closely related species of Peromyscus.

Within the species Mus musvulus, the fast-renaturing fraction of L-cell DNA, separated on a hydroxyapatite column, was able to discriminate between L-cell (originating from the C3H inbred strain) and NZB (New Zealand Black) inbred strain DNA in agar.