Template-directed synthesis on oligodeoxycytidylate and polydeoxycytidylate templates.

Oligodeoxycytidylic acids and polydeoxycytidylic acid are effective templates for the polymerization of guanosine 5'-(phospho-2-methylimidazolide). They may be substituted for the corresponding ribo-oligomers without greatly changing the course of the reactions. Since oligomers of deoxynucleotides are much more easily synthesized than the ribo-oligomers, this finding, if it proves general, should greatly facilitate the study of the template properties of oligomers containing two or more bases. Oligodeoxycytidylates facilitate the synthesis of oligoguanylates up to one residue longer than the template in high yield, and oligoguanylates up to twice the length of the template in significant yield. The time-course and regiospecificity of these reactions suggest that "sliding" and "double-templating" are important factors in determining the pattern of reaction products.