Summary
Haploid and diploid wild type strains, and three classes of radiation-sensitive mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were tested for enhancement of UV-inactivation by caffeine in growth medium. In addition, the sensitizing effect of caffeine was studied in a haploid and a diploid wild type strain after gamma-irradiation. The drug sensitized the UV-irradiated cells of all strains except those reported to be only slightly UV-sensitive but highly sensitive to ionizing radiation. After gamma-irradiation, no caffeine-enhancement of killing was observed in stationary phase cells of either the haploid or the diploid strain. However, log-phase cells of both strains were partially sensitized.
The results of both sets of experiments suggested that caffeine interferes with a recombinational repair occurring in cells in S or G2 phase.
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Hannan, M.A., Nasim, A. Caffeine enhancement of radiation killing in different strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae . Molec. Gen. Genet. 158, 111–116 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00455125
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00455125