The dissociation of histone from deoxyribonucleohistone by gamma-irradiation.

1. Experiments were carried out to determine the extent of dissociation of histone from deoxyribonucleohistone as a result of irradiation with gamma-rays from (60)Co. 2. The bulk of the nucleohistone was removed from the irradiated solutions either by sedimentation or by precipitation with dilute sodium chloride solution. The supernatants were then analysed for DNA and histone. 3. The ratios of histone to DNA in these supernatants were less than for the original nucleohistone. This indicated that histone was dissociated by the irradiation, and then aggregated either with itself or with other nucleohistone molecules, and so was removed with the bulk of the nucleohistone during sedimentation or precipitation.