Abstract
ULTRAVIOLET irradiation of DNA converts a portion of the adjacent pyrimidine bases into cyclobutane dimers of the form 
. As a consequence, hydrogen bonding and base stacking at these sites are disrupted, and localised denatured regions may appear. (Ultraviolet-induced denaturation has been reviewed in ref. 2.) Treatment of DNA with formaldehyde results in a preferential reaction at these denatured sites (or defects) because formaldehyde reacts only with free but not hydrogen-bonded amino groups3.
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RAHN, R., STAFFORD, R. Measurement of Defects in Ultraviolet-irradiated DNA by the Kinetic Formaldehyde Method. Nature 248, 52–54 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/248052a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/248052a0
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