1969 Volume 44 Issue 1 Pages 31-40
The in vitro effect of 4-nitropyridine 1-oxide (4NPO) and its reductive erivatives on the transforming DNA in Bacillus subtilis was investigated. Among six compounds used, only 4-hydroxylaminopyridine 1-oxide (4HAPO) was effective to inhibit the transforming activity of DNA. The inhibition took place only in the presence of air.
This led to a conclusion that 4HAPO itself is not the ultimate compound in the inhibition process of the transforming DNA but an oxidation product possibly of free radical character may be primarily responsible for this event.