Correlation between percentage guanine-cytosine content and melting temperature of deoxyribonucleic acid

✍ Scribed by B. Y. Tong; M. L. C. Leung

• Book ID: 101716278
• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 1977
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 466 KB
• Volume: 16
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0006-3525
• DOI: 10.1002/bip.1977.360160605

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

An explicit relation between the percentage (G + C)‐content X~GC~, and the melting temperature (T~m~) of a natural DNA, is derived froma a statistical mechanics calculation with due consideration given to the base pair bonding and stacking interactions. The well‐known Marmur‐Doty empirical formula, linearly relating these two quantities, can now be understood in terms of the fundamental processes. We also propose a simpler experimental procedure for the determination of X~GC~. It is similar to the melting temperature method, but we take only one reading at a prescribed temperature of any natural DNA in addition to the two normalization readings. It should be more sensitive for DNAs having X~GC~ ranging from 35 to 65%.