Streptococcal nucleases. II. Characterization of DNAse D.

Preparations of streptococcal DNAse D with high specific activity and free of other streptococcal nucleases have been obtained by zone electrophoresis and column chromatography. Antisera prepared by injecting rabbits with such preparations specifically neutralize the activity of this enzyme. As with DNAse B, preparations of DNAse D regularly exhibit ribonuclease activity. For both B and D enzymes, the order of substrate preference is thymus DNA, yeast RNA, bacterial RNA; but the specific activity of the D enzyme is higher than that of the B enzyme with respect to thymus DNA and lower with respect to bacterial RNA. Both the deoxyribonuclease and the ribonuclease activities exhibited by preparations of both enzymes are inhibited by bacterial RNA, but approximately 100-fold greater concentrations of bacterial RNA are required to achieve inhibition of the deoxyribonuclease activity of the D enzyme equivalent to the inhibition of the B enzyme. The deoxyribonuclease activity of the D enzyme is also inhibited by yeast RNA, but even larger amounts are required. These observations indicate that the D enzyme is immunologically distinct from the other streptococcal nucleases and that it differs quantitatively from the B enzyme with respect to relative specific activities on different substrates and behavior in the presence of the bacterial ribonucleic acid inhibitor.