Studies on the chemistry of the transforming activity. I. Resistance to physical and chemical agents

Abstract

The transforming principles of Hemophilus influenzae have been purified by a new method including fractional extraction. The active molecule behaves in these extractions like the bulk of the DNA preparation. The minimal amount of DNA necessary for transformation appeared to be of the same order of magnitude as the amount of DNA in a single cell. Quantitative study has been made of the resistance of transforming activity to various agents. When subjected to heat, the temperature at which the activity starts to decrease corresponds rather closely to the temperature at which the viscosity of the bulk of the DNA preparations starts to decrease. Similar correspondence was found when the transforming principle was subjected to pH changes. This is further evidence that the behavior of the active molecules is similar to the behavior of the average DNA molecule of the preparation. The activity is reduced by exposure to low ionic strength and by dehydration. Desoxyribonuclease in concentrations less than 10(-4) gamma/cc. is able to destroy the activity; a lag period during which the activity but not the viscosity decreases has been observed. NaNO(2) at pH 5.3, HCHO and 10(-5)M Fe(++) reduce or destroy the activity; the importance of intact amino groups in the DNA molecule for the activity is discussed. Several protein-denaturing, sterilizing, and mutagenic agents have been found to have no effect on the transforming activity.