Transcriptional characteristics of in vitro assembled chromatin assayed by microinjection into Xenopus laevis oocytes.

Plasmid DNA was in vitro assembled into chromatin using an S-150 extract of Xenopus laevis oocytes. By varying the assembly temperature and DNA concentration it is possible to generate fully or partially assembled molecules. The fate of the in vitro preassembled molecules injected into X. laevis oocyte nuclei and their transcriptional activity were studied. Completely reconstituted molecules underwent a rearrangement of their chromatin structure after injection and showed reduced transcriptional activity compared to protein-free DNA or partially reconstituted chromatin.