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Induction of recA +-protein synthesis in Escherichia coli

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Summary

Escherichia coli was infected with λprecA +to determine the genetic and physiological factors controlling recA +gene expression. When λprecA +replication was prevented by superinfection immunity, recA +protein synthesis was induced by UV radiation. The recA +gene is negatively controlled by the lexA +gene product because i) a dominant lexA mutation, lexA3, prevented induction of recA +protein synthesis ii) a recessive lexA mutation, tsl-1, caused induction of recA +protein synthesis. Conversely positive control of recA +gene expression requires recA +protein because i) a co-dominant tif-1 mutation (a recA mutation) caused induction of recA +protein synthesis ii) a recessive mutation, recA1, prevented cis-induction of recA protein synthesis. recA +protein and Protein X of UV irradiated bacteria co-migrated and were subject to the same physiological and genetic controls. It is concluded that Protein X is recA +protein. λ lysogenic induction was prevented by TPCK, a protease inhibitor. However TPCK did not prevent induction of recA +protein synthesis, indicating that induction of the two processes occurs in different ways. It is suggested that the lexA +and recA +proteins normally combine to repress the recA +gene. Derepression might occur after DNA damaging treatments because the amount of this complex would be reduced by recA +protein i) binding to single-stranded DNA and/or ii) being activated to function proteolytically towards regulatory molecules such as λ repressor.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d'Enzymologie, Centre Nationale de la Récherche Scientifique, F-91190, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

    Steven G. Sedgwick, Alain Levine & Adriana Bailone

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  1. Steven G. Sedgwick
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  2. Alain Levine
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  3. Adriana Bailone
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Communicated by B.A. Bridges

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Sedgwick, S.G., Levine, A. & Bailone, A. Induction of recA +-protein synthesis in Escherichia coli . Molec. Gen. Genet. 160, 267–276 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00332970

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00332970

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