LETHAL INTERACTION BETWEEN ULTRAVIOLET-VIOLET RADIATIONS AND METHYL METHANE SULPHONATE IN REPAIR PROFICIENT AND REPAIR DEFICIENT STRAINS OF ESCHERICHIA COLI

Abstract— The lethal interaction between monochromatic radiation at various wavelengths and methyl methane sulphonate was tested in strains of Escherichia coli proficient and deficient in DNA repair. In the repair proficient wild-type strain K12 AB1157, the efficiency of sensitization to MMS as a function of dose (at 334 nm, 365 nm and 405 nm) was found to be directly correlated with the dose necessary to remove the shoulder from the survival curve at the wavelength employed. The 365 nm: MMS interaction was also observed in other repair proficient E. coli strains (W3110 and B/r) but was absent in a recA and a polA strain. Pre-treatment of AB1157 with MMS leads to a much larger interaction than pre-irradiation with 365 nm. It is concluded that dose-dependent damage to DNA repair by the near-UV radiation is involved in the interaction and possibly that MMS causes irreversible damage 10 repair enzymes.     

SYNERGISTIC LETHAL ACTION OF ULTRAVIOLET-VIOLET RADIATIONS AND MILD HEAT IN ESCHERICHIA COLI

Abstract— The lethal interaction of far ultraviolet (254nm), near ultraviolet (334 and 365nm) and violet visible (405nm) radiation treatment with mild heat treatment was studied. Except at 254nm, a strong positive radiation dose-dependent interaction (synergism) was always observed. The efficiency of sensitisation to heat, as a function of dose at each wavelength, was found to be directly correlated with the dose necessary to eliminate the shoulder from the survival curve of a repair proficient strain but was apparently unrelated to the relative near-ultraviolet sensitivities of a repair deficient strain. The interaction was independent of the order of treatments. A radiation dose of 10⁶ Jm^-2 at 365nm slightly sensitised a cell population to 45°C incubation (normally non-lethal) and strongly sensitised the cells to 48°C treatment (normally 80 percent survival after 2 hours). It is proposed that in addition to DNA damage, both heat treatment and near ultraviolet treatment interfere with DNA recovery mechanisms so that the combination of the two agents inevitably leads to a strong positive interaction.     

LETHAL EFFECTS OF NATURAL SOLAR ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION IN REPAIR PROFICIENT AND REPAIR DEFICIENT STRAINS OF ESCHERICHIA COLI: ACTIONS AND INTERACTIONS

Abstract— The inactivation of repair proficient ( Escherichia coli K12 AB 1157, E. coli B/r) and repair deficient ( E. coli K12 AB 1886 uvrA , AB 2463 recA and AB 2480 uvrA recA ) strains of bacteria by noon sunlight has been measured. The use of biological dosimetry based on an ultraviolet (UV) sensitive strain of Bacillus subtilis spores has allowed a quantitative comparison of bacterial inactivation by solar, 254 and 302 nm radiations. Our analysis indicates that: (1) uvrA and recA gene products are involved in repair of a substantial portion of the solar DNA damage, (2) 302 nm is a more appropriate wavelength than 254 nm to represent the DNA-damaging action of sunlight and that (3) repair proficient strains are inactivated by sunlight more rapidly than expected from the levels of DNA damage induced. When populations of repair proficient bacteria are exposed to noon sunlight for 20 min, they become sensitive to the lethal action of far-UV (254 nm), MMS (0.1 M ) and to a lesser extent, mild heat (52°C).     

SINGLE-STRAND DNA BREAKS INDUCED BY 365 NM RADIATION IN ESCHERICHIA COLI STRAINS DIFFERING IN SENSITIVITY TO NEAR and FAR UV

The gene mutation nur has been shown specifically to sensitize Escherichia coli stationary phase cells to inactivation by broad spectrum near-UV (NUV) radiation. In the work reported here, E. coli strains RT1. RT2, RT3, and RT4, carrying the 4 possible combinations of recA1, recA⁺, nur , and nur⁺ , were exposed to monochromatic NUV (365 nm). The strains carrying the nur allele (RT1 and RT2) were more sensitive to inactivation by this wavelength and exhibited considerably more single strand break's (SSB's) than the strains carrying the nur⁺ allele (RT3 and RT4). As predicted, following X-irradiation the strains carrying the recA1 allele (RT1 and RT3) were more sensitive than the recA⁺ strains (RT2 and RT4). We conclude that the enhanced SSB's observed in strains RT1 and RT2 following monochromatic NUV irradiation correlated with the nur mutation and are unrelated to the recA1 mutation.     

SINGLE-STRAND BREAKS IN THE DNA OF THE uvrA AND uvrB STRAINS OF ESCHERICHIA COLI K-12 AFTER ULTRAVIOLET IRRADIATION

Abstract— DNA single-strand breaks were produced in uvrA and uvrB strains of E. coli K-12 after UV (254 nm) irradiation. These breaks appear to be produced both directly by photochemical events, and by a temperature-dependent process. Cyclobutane-type pyrimidine dimers are probably not the photoproducts that lead to the temperature-dependent breaks, since photoreactivation had no detectable effect on the final yield of breaks. The DNA strand breaks appear to be repairable by a process that requires DNA polymerase I and polynucleotide ligase, but not the recA, recB, recF, lexA 101 or uvrD gene products. We hypothesize that these temperature-dependent breaks occur either as a result of breakdown of a thermolabile photoproduct, or as the initial endonucleolytic event of a uvrA , uvrB -independent excision repair process that acts on a UV photoproduct other than the cyclobutane-type pyrimidine dimer.     

POSTREPLICATION REPAIR IN uvrA AND uvrB STRAINS OF ESCHERICHIA COLI K-12 IS INHIBITED BY RICH GROWTH MEDIUM

Abstract Escherichia coli K-12 uvrA or uvrB strains grown to logarithmic phase in minimal medium showed higher survival after ultraviolet (UV) irradiation (254 nm) if plated on minimal medium (MM) instead of rich medium. This'minimal medium recovery'(MMR) was largely blocked by additional recA56 (92% inhibition) or lexA101 (77%) mutations, was partially blocked by additional recB21 (54%), uvrD3 (31%) or recF143 (22%) mutations, but additional polA1 or polA5 mutations had no effect on MMR. When incubated in MM after UV irradiation, the uvrB5 and uvrB5 uvrD3 strains showed essentially complete repair of DNA daughter-strand gaps (DSG) produced after UV radiation fluences up to ∼ 6 J/m² and ∼1 J/m², respectively, and then they accumulated unrepaired DSG as a linear function of UV radiation fluence. However, when they were incubated in rich growth medium after UV irradiation, they did not show the complete repair of DSG and unrepaired DSG accumulated as a linear function of UV radiation fluence. The fluence-dependent correlation observed for the uvrB and uvrB uvrD cells between UV radiation-induced killing and the accumulation of unrepaired DSG, indicates that the molecular basis of MMR is the partial inhibition of postreplication repair by rich growth medium. Rich growth medium can be just MM plus Casamino Acids or the 13 pure amino acids therein in order to have an adverse effect on survival, regardless of whether the cells were grown in rich medium or not before UV irradiation.     

ACTION SPECTRA FOR LETHALITY IN RECOMBINATION-LESS STRAINS OF SALMONELLA TYPHIMURIUM AND ESCHERICHIA COLI*

Abstract— Action spectra for lethality of both stationary and exponentially growing cells of recombinationless (recA) mutants of Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli were obtained. Maximum sensitivity was observed at 260nm which corresponds to the maximum absorbance of DNA. However, a shoulder occurred in the 280–300 nm range that departed significantly from the absorption spectrum of DNA. At wavelengths longer than 320nm, the shapes of inactivation curves departed significantly from those at wavelengths shorter than 320nm and survival curves at wavelengths longer than 320nm had a large shoulder. A small peak or shoulder occurred in the 330–340nm region of the action spectra. The special sensitivity of recA mutants to broad spectrum near-UV radiation may be due to synergistic effects of different wavelengths. Parallels between the inactivation of recA mutants and the induction of a photoproduct of l -tryptophan toxic for recA mutants (now known to be H₂O₂) suggest that H₂O₂ photoproduct from endogenous tryptophan may be involved in the high sensitivity of these strains to broad spectrum near-UV radiation.     

THE SYNERGISTIC ACTION OF ULTRAVIOLET AND X RADIATION ON MUTANTS OF ESCHERICHIA COLI K-12

Abstract— Prior UV irradiation increased the X-ray sensitivity of wild-type E. coli K-12. This synergistic effect of combined UV and X irradiation was also observed, but to a reduced extent, in uvrA, uvrB, uvrC , and polA mutants, but was absent in exrA, recA, recB , or recC mutants of E. coli K-12. Alkaline sucrose gradient studies demonstrated that the wand err gene-controlled, growth-medium-dependent (Type III) repair of X-ray-induced DNA single-strand breaks was inhibited by prior UV irradiation. This inhibition probably explains the synergistic effect of these two radiations on survival.     

INTERACTION OF IONIZING RADIATION AND ULTRAVIOLET-LIGHT IN DIPLOID YEAST STRAINS OF DIFFERENT SENSITIVITY*

Abstract— The interaction of ionizing radiation and UV-light regarding colony forming ability in 3 diploid yeast strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was investigated. A wild type and two radiation sensitive mutants were used. No difference in the response of the three strains could be detected when the UV dose was given first, but when ionizing radiation was applied shortly before UV, there were essential differences depending on the kind of mutation. The involvement of repair mechanisms in the interaction is discussed.     

MODIFICATION OF LETHAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN NEAR-ULTRAVIOLET (365 nm) RADIATION AND DNA-DAMAGING AGENTS

Abstract— The modification of the lethal interaction between near-UV (365 nm) radiation and a second DNA-damaging agent by incubation between treatments in either a minimal salts medium or complete growth medium has been studied in the wild-type bacterial strain Escherichia coli K12 AB 1157. The results indicate that the lethal interaction may be separated into at least two distinct processes whose evaluation may help in classifying DNA-damaging agents in terms of the repairability of the DNA lesions induced. An observation of changes when methyl methane sulphonate is given prior to the irradiation treatment indicates that this chemical irreversibly damages repair enzymes.     

SENSITIVITY OF DNA REPAIR-DEFICIENT STRAINS OF ESCHERICHIA COLI K-12 TO VARIOUS FUROCOUMARINS AND NEAR-ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION

Abstract— Survival curves were obtained for DNA repair-deficient strains of Escherichia coli K-12 ( polA1, uvrB5 , and recA56 ) exposed to near-ultraviolet radiation [black light (BL)] in the presence of the DNA cross-linking agent 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) or in the presence of photosensitizers forming primarily monoadducts with DNA [angelicin; 3-carbethoxypsoralen (3-CPs); 5,7-dimethoxycoumarin (DMC)], and after exposure to blue light (BluL) in the presence of 8-MOP or 3-CPs. An interpretation of these data suggests that DNA polymerase I is required for the major pathway of monoadduct repair, but appears to play little or no role in the repair of 8-MOP cross-links. The uvrB and recA strains were very sensitive, both to the cross-linking agent and to the monoadduct formers. The markedly different results for BL plus DMC or 3-CPs compared to angelicin suggests that the DMC and 3-CPs monoadducts are repaired by a different mechanism than are the angelicin monoadducts, or else DMC and 3-CPs undergo photochemical side reactions that produce DNA lesions other than the expected monoadducts. From photochemical evidence, we predicted that fewer 8-MOP monoadducts should be converted to cross-links by BluL vs BL; this appears to be the case. 3-CPs showed dramatically different biological results when irradiated with BL vs BluL, suggesting that 3-CPs may form more types of photoproducts than the expected monoadducts; BluL, however, appears to favor monoadduct formation.     

SENSITIVITIES TO MONOCHROMATIC 254-nm AND 365-nm RADIATION OF CLOSELY RELATED STRAINS OF Saccharomyces cerevisiae WITH DIFFERING REPAIR CAPABILITIES

Abstract— Sensitivity to monochromatic 254- and 365-nm radiation was compared in closely related yeast strains with defects in one or more of the excision-repair ( rad1 ), error-prone repair ( rad18 ), or recombinational-repair ( rad51 ) pathways. At 254 nm, mutants defective in a single repair pathway exhibited slight to moderate UV sensitivity; those defective in two separate pathways were somewhat more UV sensitive, while triple mutants defective in all three pathways exhibited extreme UV sensitivity with a lethal event corresponding to 0.05 J m⁻². Repair defects also rendered mutants sensitive to 365-nm radiation; strains with single defects exhibited slight sensitivity, mutants with two defective pathways were more sensitive, and triple mutants exhibited maximal sensitivity with a lethal event corresponding to 2.4 times 10⁴ J m⁻². In the triple mutant ( rad1, rad18, rad51 ) at both 254 and 365 nm, the dose per lethal event was almost identical with comparable values in a repair-deficient double mutant ( uvrA, recA ) of Escherichia coli. In the E. coli mutant pyrimidine dimers are believed to be the primary cause of lethality at both wavelengths. Evidence for dimer involvement in the yeast mutant was obtained by demonstrating that lethality at both 254 and 365 nm was photoreactivated by light at 405 nm.     

REC A +-DEPENDENT SYNERGISM BETWEEN 365 NM AND IONIZING RADIATION IN LOG-PHASE ESCHERICHIA COLI: A MODEL FOR OXYGEN-DEPENDENT NEAR-UV INACTIVATION BY DISRUPTION OF DNA REPAIR

Abstract —The oxygen dependence of 365 nm inactivation of colony-forming ability of Escherichia coli has been investigated in two series of DNA repair-deficient K12 mutants grown to mid-exponential phase. All strains except a uvr A rec A double mutant are more sensitive to inactivation under O₂ and show a lower threshold dose. The inactivation of photoreactivating enzyme in a crude cell extract and DNA repair disruption are both reduced when irradiation is carried out under nitrogen. The rec A gene-dependent synergism between 365 nm and ionising radiation is reversible if cells are incubated in full growth medium before ionising radiation treatment. In a wildtype strain, incubation for 2.5 h in full growth medium after 10⁶ J m^-2 365 nm radiation changes a sensitised response to a protection from ionising radiation. Protection is not seen at 1.5 times 10⁶ J m^-2. A tentative model for near UV lethality in logarithmic phase cells is suggested which proposes two classes of lesions. One requires oxygen for it's induction, is rapidly fixed as a lethal event as a result of repair disruption, and is primarily responsible for cell death after aerobic 365 nm irradiation. The other lesion, possibly pyrimidine dimers, may lead to cell death under anaerobic conditions.     

SENSITIVITY OF STRAINS OF ESCHERICHIA COLI DIFFERING IN REPAIR CAPABILITY TO FAR UV,NEAR UV AND VISIBLE RADIATIONS*

Abstract— In stationary phase, strains of Escherichia coli deficient in excision (B/r Her) or recombination repair (K.12 AB2463) were more sensitive than a repair proficient strain (B/r) to monochromatic near-ultraviolet (365 nm) and visible (460 nm) radiations. The relative increase in sensitivity of mutants deficient in excision or recombination repair, in comparision to the wildtype, was less at 365 nm than at 254 nm. However, a strain deficient in both excision and recombination repair (K12 AB2480) showed a large, almost equal, increase in sensitivity over mutants deficient in either excision or recombination repair at 365 nm and 254 nm. All strains tested were highly resistant to 650 nm radiation. Action spectra for lethality of strains B/r and B/r Her in stationary phase reveal small peaks or shoulders in the 330–340, 400–410 and 490–510 nm wavelength ranges. The presence of 5μg/ml acriflavine (an inhibitor of repair) in the plating medium greatly increased the sensitivity of strain B/r to radiation at 254, 365 and 460 nm, while strains E. coli B/r Her and K12 AB2463 were sensitized by small amounts. At each of the wavelengths tested, acriflavine in the plating medium had at most a small effect on E. coli K.12 AB2480. Acriflavine failed to sensitize any strain tested at 650 nm. Evidence supports the interpretation that lesions induced in DNA by 365 nm and 460 nm radiations play the major role in the inactivation of E. coli by these wavelengths. Single-strand breaks (or alkali-labile bonds), but not pyrimidine dimers are candidates for the lethal DNA lesions in uvrA and repair proficient strains. At high fluences lethality may be enhanced by damage to the excision and recombination repair systems.     

ENHANCED SENSITIVITY TO THE LETHAL AND MUTAGENIC EFFECTS OF PHOTOSENSITIZING ACTION OF CHLORPROMAZINE IN ETHYLENEDIAMINETETRAACETATE-TREATED ESCHERICHIA COLI

Abstract— Ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) treatment of Escherichia coli H/r30 (Arg_-) enhanced cell sensitivity to the lethal and mutagenic effects of the photosensitizing action of chlorpromazine (CPZ). The most obvious effect of EDTA on the fluence-survival curve was an elimination of the shoulder. In the absence of EDTA, CPZ plus near-UV radiation did not induce the reversion from arginine-auxo-troph to autotroph of E. coli H/r30. However, when EDTA (5 mM)-treated cells were subjected to CPZ plus near-UV radiation, the induced reversion frequency increased with time of irradiation. It is concluded that the enhanced penetration of CPZ into E. coli cells by EDTA facilitates the drug binding to DNA within the cells upon near-UV irradiation and that this is the cause for the enhanced photosensitized lethal and mutagenic effects of CPZ.     

GROWTH DELAY INDUCED IN ESCHERICHIA COLI BY NEAR-ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION: RELATIONSHIP TO MEMBRANE TRANSPORT FUNCTIONS*

Abstract— Rates of leucíne transport, oxygen utilization, and glucose and succinate uptake were determined in cultures of Escherichia coli B/r before and after exposure to near-UV light. Within experimental errors, rates of uptake of glucose and of succinate were proportional to growth rate at all times during the recovery or growth delay period following near-UV exposure and the same proportionality was maintained in unexposed cultures. However, rates of leucine uptake and incorporation and of oxygen utilization were not related to growth rate in a simple fashion. The results suggest that inhibition of carbon source transport is a fundamental component, and may be a primary mechanism, in growth delay induced by near-UV radiation.     

GENETIC CONTROL OF NEAR-UV SENSITIVITY INDEPENDENT OF EXCISION DEFICIENCY (uvrA6) IN ESCHERICHIA COLI K12

By appropriate matings, recombinant strains carrying all four possible combinations of genes controlling near-UV (nur vs nur⁺) and far-UV (uvrA6 vs uvrA⁺, excision repair function) sensitivity have been constructed. Near and far-UV inactivation experiments with the four recombinant strains reveal that inactivating events induced by near and far-UV do not appear to overlap. These results are analogous to our previously reported experiments (Tuveson and Jonas, 1979) with recombinant strains carrying all four possible combinations of genes controlling near-UV sensitivity (nur vs nur⁺) and recombination proficiency (far-UV sensitivity, recA1 vs recA⁺). The results of these two sets of experiments taken together may mean that any recA⁺ or uvrA⁺ repairable lesions induced by near-UV are repaired equally well by either system and do not require the simultaneous participation of both repair systems.     

PHOTODYNAMIC AND SUNLIGHT INACTIVATION OF ESCHERICHIA COLI STRAINS DIFFERING IN NEAR-UV SENSITIVITY AND RECOMBINATION PROFICIENCY

Abstract— Stationary cells of four Escherichia coli strains exhibiting all four possible combinations of genes controlling near-UV sensitivity ( nur vs nur ⁺) and recombination proficiency (far-UV sensitivity; recA1 us recA ⁺) have been inactivated by visible light in the presence of acridine orange (AO, 10µg/m l ) and sunlight. The results demonstrate that strains sensitive to near-UV inactivation are also sensitive to inactivation by visible light in the presence of AO and sunlight irrespective of the recA allele carried by the strain. These results may be interpreted to mean that major mechanisms of inactivation of stationary E. coli cells by near-UV, visible light in the presence of AO and sunlight are similar and not closely related to the mechanism of inactivation by far-UV.