STUDIES ON THE CHEMICAL NATURE OF THE SUBSTANCE INDUCING TRANSFORMATION OF PNEUMOCOCCAL TYPES : II. EFFECT OF DESOXYRIBONUCLEASE ON THE BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF THE TRANSFORMING SUBSTANCE.

It has been shown that extremely minute amounts of purified preparations of desoxyribonuclease are capable of bringing about the complete and irreversible inactivation of the transforming substance of Pneumococcus Type III. The significance of the effect of the enzyme, and its bearing on the chemical nature of the transforming substance, together with certain considerations concerning the biological specificity of desoxyribonucleic acids in general, are discussed.