DNase II digestion of the nucleosome core: precise locations and relative exposures of sites.

The precise locations and relative exposures of the DNase II-accessible sites in the nucleosome core DNA are determined using techniques previously employed for the enzyme DNase I. It is found that there are a number of similarities between the site exposure patterns for the two enzymes but that in general the DNase II seems to discriminate less among adjacent sites' accessibilities than does DNase I. The two enzymes attack essentially the same positions in the DNA, the average difference between the precise location of the site being less than one-half base for the two enzymes. Such close similarities in the digestion patterns of two enzymes with such different mechanisms of scission show that the patterns reflect the structure of the nucleosome core and not merely the properties of the particular enzyme used.