[Effect of MEA on DNA degradation in permeable irradiated Bac. stearothermophilus cells].

It was shown that DNA-degrading activity of permeable, intact and gamma-irradiated cells of Bac. stearothermophilus decreased under the effect of beta-mercaptoethylamine (MEA). MEA decreased also a DNAase activity, in a crude acellular extract of Bac. stearothermophilus, and activities of S1-nuclease and DNAase I. The data obtained prompt an assumption that MEA has an inhibitory action on the activity of endonucleases irrespective of their substrate specificity.