The telomeres of Tetrahymena ribosomal DNA are not sufficient for stabilizing linear DNA in Xenopus oocytes.

Restriction fragments that include the telomeres of ribosomal DNA from Tetrahymena thermophila (TtrDNA) were ligated to the ends of linearized simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA. The linear SV40 DNA with TtrDNA ends, circular SV40 DNA, linear SV40 DNA, and intact TtrDNA were injected into the nuclei of Xenopus laevis oocytes and assayed for stability. The intact linear 21-kb TtrDNA and circular SV40 DNA were maintained stably for at least 72 h after injection while the linearized SV40 DNA, either with or without telomeric ends, was degraded rapidly. Limited digestion with micrococcal nuclease revealed that neither the intact TtrDNA nor the SV40 DNA with telomeric ends reconstituted into chromatin containing regularly spaced nucleosomes. Another linearized plasmid DNA (pBamC), 14 kb in length, also was not stable in Xenopus oocytes with or without the addition of TtrDNA telomeres. Therefore, TtrDNA telomeres by themselves are not sufficient for stabilization of linear DNA in Xenopus oocytes. Rather, linear TtrDNA is maintained stably because of additional sequence or structural information encoded within the molecule.