Abstract
Six temperature-sensitive mutants derived from the cyanobacteriumAnabœna variabilis exhibited differences in their photosynthetic efficiency (as evidenced by oxygen evolution studies). All the ts-mutants exhibited lower chlorophyll and phycocyanin contents at 40°C relative to the wild strain and to their control cultures at 28°C. Whole cell absorption spectra of the wild strain showed the same level of chlorophyll, phycocyanin and phycoerythrin at 28 and 40°C, while the spectra from UV irradiated cells showed a decreased content of these pigments. The UV-sensitivity, photoreactivation and dark repair of the ts-mutants indicated a four- to seven-fold increased sensitivity to UV-light as evidenced by LD37 values. The ability of these six mutants to repair UV-induced lesions either by photoreactivation or dark-repair was lower than in the wild strain. The ability of ts-43 and ts-49 to mediate dark-repair appears to have been lost, as documented by the survival curves obtained after post-irradiation treatment with caffeine. These results point to a relationship between the photosynthetic efficiency and the ability to repair UV-induced lesions.
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Sarma, T.A., Singh, D.P. Temperature-sensitive photosynthesis-deficient mutants ofAnabœna variabilis show enhanced ultraviolet sensitivity and loss of repair mechanism. Folia Microbiol 41, 181–186 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02814696
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02814696