The integrity of deoxyribonucleic acid extracted from Escherichia coli 15T- after thymine-less death

1. The integrity of DNA extracted from Escherichia coli strain 15T(-) after thymine-less death was examined by studying the effects of treatment with aqueous alkali on the solubility in dilute acids and by viscosity and ultracentrifugal measurements, some of which were designed to detect single-strand breaks or inter-strand cross-links. None of the results showed that there was any modification or damage associated with thymine-less death.