Hyperchromicity and strand separation in bacterial DNA.

Studies of the per cent of strand separation of N(14)-N(15) hybrid coli DNA heated to various temperatures in formaldehyde have shown that the process of strand separation is a function of temperature and formaldehyde concentration and is directly related to the measured hyperchromicity. No strands separate until about 75 per cent of full hyperchromicity is obtained, and even at apparently full hyperchromicity a large fraction of the strands may be held together, possibly by guanine-cytosine-rich regions.