Degradation of a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Product by Heat‐Stable Deoxyribonuclease (DNase) Produced from Yersinia enterocolitica

Abstract
When crude deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) preparations by boiling were used for the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from pathogenic and non‐pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica strains, the amplified products were degraded after their storage at 4 C. The degradation of products was prevented by the addition of ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) or treatment with proteinase K. These findings indicate that Y. enterocolitica produced heat‐stable deoxyribonuclease (DNase). Proteinase K treatment would be recommended to prevent heat‐stable DNase contamination in the DNA preparations for PCR from Y. enterocolitica strains.