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Photoreactivation in Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum

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Abstract

The sensitivity of three methanogenic bacteria towards ultraviolet irradiation was similar to the UV-sensitivity of Escherichia coli. The lethal effects of UV-irradiation in Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum Marburg and in Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum ΔH but not in Methanococcus vannielii were reversed by exposure to visible light. In cell suspensions of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum that had been irradiated to 0.1% survival, 90% of the UV-caused damage was photorepairable. The in vivo action spectrum for photoreactivation suggests that in this organism a deazaflavin, probably F420, functions as the chromophore of the photoreactivating enzyme.

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Kiener, A., Gall, R., Rechsteiner, T. et al. Photoreactivation in Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum . Arch. Microbiol. 143, 147–150 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00411038

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00411038

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