Abundance and degree of dispersion of genomic d(GA) n ·d(TC) n sequences

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Abstract
The abundance of d(GA) n ·d(TC) n tracts was determined in genomes of rodents and primates. Dot blot hybridization assays revealed that such tracts constitute 0.40%, 0.30%, and 0.40%, respectively, of the rat, hamster, and mouse genomes, but only 0.07% and 0.05% of the human and monkey genomes. A plaque hybridization assay of rat and human genomic libraries showed that 37% and 16%, respectively, of the recombinant phages in these libraries contain d(GA) n ·d(TC) n tracts. A survey of sequences stored in the GenBank data bank showed that a significant fraction of the stored rodent genes (about 2.0%) contain long d(GA) n ·d(TC) n tracts (n> 30) with n n ·d(TC) n tracts as the primates. It is suggested that a common ancestor of the rodents has acquired the ability to amplify d(GA) n ·d(TC) n tracts.