Errors of reproducibility with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) are remarkably serious in determination of base composition of bacterial genome DNA, which is usually defined as guanine-plus-cytosine content [(G+C) mol%]. For partially purified DNA, salts are a major source of interference in enzymatic degradation and RNAs are a major source of interference in chemical degradation. This research analyzes the conditions and products by chemical (perchloric acid and formic acid) and enzymatic degradations (phasphodiesterase Ⅰ and bovine intestinal mucosa alkaline phophatase) of bacterial genome DNA using RP-HPLC, and introduces a systematic method to precisely measure the base composition of bacterial DNA.

Key words: HIGH SPEED LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY, HYDROLYSIS, PERCHLORIC ACID, FORMIC ACID, PHOSPHODIESTERASE, PHOSPHOKINASE