COMPLEMENTARY STRUCTURE OF INTERACTING SITES AT THE ENDS OF LAMBDA DNA MOLECULES

Abstract

Half-length fragments of DNA from phage lambda rejoin in pairs when subjected to thermal annealing. The pairs consist mainly or exclusively of right and left halves. The reactive sites at the two ends of the original molecule are therefore different from each other and, at least in a formal sense, complementary in structure. It also follows that the majority of molecular ends of each class are more or less identical, or belong to one of very few types.