The base composition of the krill genome and its potential susceptibility to damage by UV-B

We have determined the base composition (percentage of guanine-cytosine base pairs, GC%) of total DNA from Euphausia superba to be 32% ± 0.5%. This is the lowest GC% recorded for a metazoan. Low GC% DNA has high concentrations of thymine (T) residues and consequently a greater abundance of adjacent...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Authors: Jarman, Simon, Elliott, Nicholas, Nicol, Stephen, McMinn, Andrew, Newman, Stuart
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1999
Subjects:
Antarc*
Antarctic
Antarctic Science
Euphausia superba
Southern Ocean
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102099000048
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102099000048
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Summary:We have determined the base composition (percentage of guanine-cytosine base pairs, GC%) of total DNA from Euphausia superba to be 32% ± 0.5%. This is the lowest GC% recorded for a metazoan. Low GC% DNA has high concentrations of thymine (T) residues and consequently a greater abundance of adjacent T residues [T(n) arrays]. Ultraviolet B (280–320 nm, UV-B) radiation damages DNA primarily at (T)n arrays, so we suggest that krill DNA may be more susceptible to damage from increased levels of UV-B radiation over the Southern Ocean than the DNA of other Antarctic organisms.

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