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Radiation Target Analyses of DNA Template/Primer Complexes

Nicolas Sluis-Cremer ^* and Ellis S. Kempner 

^* Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261; and Office of Science and Technology, National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892

Correspondence: Address reprint requests and inquiries to Nicolas Sluis-Cremer, Tel.: 412-648-8457; Fax: 412-648-8521; E-mail: cremern{at}dom.pitt.edu.

Frozen solutions of low molecular weight DNA template/primer complexes, in the absence and presence of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase, were irradiated with high-energy electrons. Molecules that survived the radiation exposure were quantified and analyzed using radiation target theory. Transfer of radiation-deposited energy was observed by the damage caused. It was found that damage (as a polynucleotide chain break) was observed in one chain when the radiation interaction occurred in the other chain, suggesting a transfer of energy. In contrast, the target sizes of the DNA template/primers were not altered if bound to HIV-1 reverse transcriptase, signifying that the deposited radiation energy is not transferred between protein and nucleic acid.