Fractionation of chick oviduct chromatin. Nuclease-resistant deoxyribonucleic acid.

Chromatin isolated from several chick tissues was treated with micrococcal nuclease. A limited degree of tissue specificity of chromatin DNA resistance to nuclease digestion was observed. No difference in the extent of nuclease resistance of chromatin DNA was detected during oestrogen-induced oviduct differentiation. This suggested that the amount of non-histone chromosomal protein does not play an important role in the sensitivity of chromatin DNA to nuclease digestion. Studies of nuclease resistance of chromatin DNA after dissociation and reconstitution of chromatin proteins and ethanol extraction of chromatin indicate that the histones protect the DNA from nuclease attack. Slow thermal denaturation of nuclease-resistant DNA suggests that the protected DNA sequences may be (A+T)-rich, and the (G+C)-rich satellites present in total chick DNA are sensitive to nuclease.