Size and DNA content of purified E. coli nucleoids observed by fluorescence microscopy

PREVIOUS studies of the physico-chemical properties of DNA as isolated in condensed bacterial chromosomes suggested that the DNA was packaged in particles with dimensions similar to the intracellular nucleoid1–3. This finding, if confirmed, is of significance for it indicates that current methods for isolating the condensed chromosomes preserve the conformational organisation of the DNA at least to the extent that the gross dimensions of the nucleoid are maintained.

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