Nuclease cleavage of chromatin at 100-nucleotide pair intervals.

Digestion of mouse liver nuclei with DNase II leads to a novel cleavage pattern with a 100-nucleotide pair periodicity. From chromatin, this pattern or the standard 200-nucleotide pair repeat can be produced depending on the ionic conditions. The results are interpreted by assuming different conformational states of the nuclear material, including condensed and extended forms.