SATELLITE DNAS CONTAIN SEQUENCES THAT INDUCE CURVATURE

The repeating units of mouse, rat, and α-monkey satellites have been cloned. All three show properties that are characteristic of curved DNA: (i) their migration in polyacrylamide gels is slower than predicted from their sequences, and (ii) they appear as curved molecules when visualized by electron microscopy. All three satellite repeats contain runs of d(A-T)n≥3 residues that are likely to be responsible for their curvature. From analysis of 20 different satellite DNA sequences, we conclude that, in satellite DNA, adenine residues show a high tendency to cluster in groups of three or more. © 1990, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.