Methylene blue photosensitised strand cleavage of DNA: effects of dye binding and oxygen

It is shown that methylene blue (MB+) photosensitises DNA in either aerated or deaerated solutions, causing direct cleavage of phosphodiester bonds and rendering additional bonds labile to alkali. Evidence from unwinding and fluorimetric studies indicates that MB+ binds to DNA in at least 2 ways. Intercalation, which optimally induces helical unwinding of 24 degrees +/- 2 degrees per MB+, is markedly reduced upon neutralisation by Mg2+ of the DNA phosphates, while significant non-intercalative binding persists as shown by substantial fluorescence quenching at Mg2+ concentrations where there is little unwinding. MB+ induces photolysis at both low and high Mg2+ concentration - intercalation is apparently not required for photolysis. The quantum yield for strand breakage varies from 1-3 X 10(-7) under different conditions and is oxygen enhanced. The DNA cleavage is guanine specific. The 3' termini of the primary MB+-induced DNA photoproducts, unlike those generated by chemical sequencing retain an alkali labile adduct on the terminal phosphate.