DNA system provided the first clear suggestion that DNA carries genetic information. In 1933, while studying virgin sea urchin eggs, Jean Brachet suggested that DNA is found in the cell nucleus and that RNA is present exclusively in the cytoplasm. At the time, "yeast nucleic acid" (RNA) was thought to occur only in plants, while "thymus nucleic acid" (DNA) only in animals. The latter was thought to be a tetramer, with the function of buffering cellular pH. In 1937, William Astbury produced the first X-ray diffraction patterns that showed that DNA had a regular structure. In 1943, Oswald Avery, along with
DNA replication the levels of protein DnaA. All these control the binding of initiator proteins to the origin sequences. Because "E. coli" methylates GATC DNA sequences, DNA synthesis results in hemimethylated sequences. This hemimethylated DNA is recognized by the protein SeqA, which binds and sequesters the origin sequence; in addition, DnaA (required for initiation of replication) binds less well to hemimethylated DNA. As a result, newly replicated origins are prevented from immediately initiating another round of DNA replication. ATP builds up when the cell is in a rich medium, triggering DNA replication once the cell has reached a specific size. ATP competes