Distribution of pyrimidine bases in herring-roe deoxyribonucleic acid

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Abstract
Herring-roe DNA was partly degraded to pyrimidine polynucleotides by non-enzymic methods. The purines were selectively removed and the liberated reducing sugars were blocked in the acylic form as ethylmercaptals. The thymine/ cytosine ratio of the product differed little from that of the original DNA. The mercaptalated product was hydrolyzed by dilute alkali to yield diffusible organo-phosphorus compounds, and a non-diffusible purine-free substance containing thymine and cytosine. The degradation is consistent with the "elimination" mechanism of nucleotide breakdown. The results suggest that there are regions in DNA where at least three pyrimidine nucleotides are linked together.