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Studies on radiation-sensitive mutants of E. coli

I. Mutants defective in the repair synthesis

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Summary

Twenty-four UV sensitive strains which can not carry out the host cell reactivation and two which are deficient in recombination were isolated. By analyzing their properties and genetic locations, 21 UV sensitive strains were classified into the uvrA, B, and C groups and 3 strains into a group which has not been described. Two Rec- strains were classified in the recA group. The UV sensitive mutants of the new group are distinctly different from other mutants in their properties and in the sites of mutation. We named this group the uvrD.

These uvrD mutants have the following properties. They have an intermediate sensitivity against UV irradiation and a higher sensitivity against γ-ray irradiation than those of other UV sensitive mutants. The UV damages which are repaired in the participation of the uvrD gene are photoreactivable. In the cells UV irradiated λ phage rapidly loses the susceptibility to photoreactivation during the incubation in broth with chloramphenicol. The DNA of the uvrD mutant is rapidly degraded at a small dose of UV light and to a large extent. The uvrD gene locates very close to the metE gene and uvrD- is dominant over uvrD+. The uvrD cells have the capacity to carry out UV reactivation for UV irradiated λ phage, in contrast to other UV sensitive mutants including the Rec- ones which turned out to have no capacity. A double mutant, uvrB uvrD, is about three times as sensitive as the uvrB mutant against UV irradiation and DNA degradation after UV irradiation takes place at much lower rate than the uvrD mutant. These results show the presence of a functional relation between the uvrB and uvrD genes and suggest that the uvrD gene participate in the repair synthesis at a step following that performed by the uvrB gene.

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Abbreviations

UV:

Ultraviolet light

Hcr:

Host cell reactivation

Phr:

Photoreactivation

UVr:

Ultraviolet light reactivation

Rec:

Capacity to form recombinants

TCA:

Trichloracetic acid

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Author notes

  1. Kazunori Shimada

    Present address: Department of Biochemistry, Kyushu University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Health of Japan, Shinagawaku, Tokyo, Japan

    Hideyuki Ogawa, Kazunori Shimada & Jun-ichi Tomizawa

Authors
  1. Hideyuki Ogawa
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  2. Kazunori Shimada
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  3. Jun-ichi Tomizawa
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Additional information

This work was aided in part by a research grant GM 08384 from the United States Public Health Service.

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Ogawa, H., Shimada, K. & Tomizawa, Ji. Studies on radiation-sensitive mutants of E. coli . Molec. Gen. Genet. 101, 227–244 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00271625

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00271625

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