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Low Oxygen Enhancement Ratios for Radiosensitive Bacterial Strains, and the Probable Interaction of Two Types of Primary Lesion

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Abstract

WHEN exposed to ionizing radiation, bacterial strains which are deficient in ability to by-pass or repair damage to nucleic acid have lower oxygen enhancement ratios (OERs) than their more radioresistant parents1. This was predicted from a model in which the principal responsibility for the oxygen effect is attributed to a primary lesion of “type O”, whereas a different primary lesion, “type N”, is more easily repaired or by-passed by some strains than others. With certain strains, notably Escherichia coli B, the lethal effects of type N lesions are readily modified by post-irradiation culture conditions. The greater the extent of repair of type N damage, the higher the OER2,3.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MRC Experimental Radiopathology Research Unit, Hammersmith Hospital, Ducane Road, London

    TIKVAH ALPER

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  1. TIKVAH ALPER
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ALPER, T. Low Oxygen Enhancement Ratios for Radiosensitive Bacterial Strains, and the Probable Interaction of Two Types of Primary Lesion. Nature 217, 862–863 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/217862a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/217862a0

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