Specific effect of zinc ions on DNA polymerase activity of avian myeloblastosis virus.

The effect of selected cations on DNA synthesis by DNA-polymerase of avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV) was studied. Zinc ions at low concentration (0.2mM) in the assay system enhanced the activity about 2 x fold and at higher concentration (2.

Incorporation of unnatural pyrimidine bases into deoxyribonucleic acid of mammalian cells.

When a mammalian cell strain was incubated with 5-iododeoxyuridine and 5-bromodeoxyuridine, DNA thymine was partially replaced by the halogen-containing pyrimidines. The extent of incorporation of the unnatural bases increased when amethopterin and hypoxanthine were added to the medium. It is thus evident that the replacement of DNA thymine by selected structural analogs, a phenomenon previously reported for bacterial systems, is applicable to cells of higher organisms.