RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SURVIVAL AND THYMINE-DIMER EXCISION IN ULTRAVIOLET-IRRADIATED ESCHERICHIA COLI

Abstract— The influence of amino acid prestarvation on both the resistance to u.v. light and excision of thymine dimers of bacterial strains E. coli B/r hcr ⁺ thy- trp ^-, E. coli B/r hcr ^-thy^- trp ^-, and E, coli 15 T^- 555–7 thy ^- meth ^- trp ^- arg ^- has been studied.
The prestarvation increased the resistance of all the strains but reasonably inhibited excision of thymine dimers. Thus the enhancement of u.v. resistance after amino acid prestarvation was not due to more complete excision of thymine dimers.     

REPAIR OF UV DAMAGE IN ESCHERICHIA COLI UNDER NON-GROWTH CONDITIONS

Abstract. –A large difference in survival occurs between buffered suspensions of E. coli irradiated with UV radiation at a low fluence rate and those irradiated at a high fluence rate. For sufficiently large fluences, the extent of this fluence rate dependent recovery (FRR) is about two orders of magnitude greater than that which can be brought about by liquid holding recovery (LHR) following high fluence rate irradiation in most of the E. coli strains studied. LHR and FRR occur in excision resynthesis repair proficient (ERR⁺) but not ERR^- strains of E. coli , although its observation can be masked in strains with complete repair potential upon subsequent growth on nutrient plates. Accumulation of DNA strand interruptions and excision of cyclobutyl dipyrimidine occur during LHR and FRR but are more extensive for the latter. Our data suggest mat events beyond incision and excision occur during LHR and FRR, but differences in the extent of ERR during LHR and FRR cannot account for the difference in cell survival between these two phenomena.     

THE TIME SEQUENCE OF EVENTS DURING EXCISION REPAIR IN TETRAHYMENA PYRIFORMIS

Abstract— The time sequence of events during excision repair of DNA in Tetrahymena pyriformis was investigated after sublethal dose of u.v. radiation. Buoyant-density analysis of the DNA from repairing cells grown in medium containing 5'-bromodeoxyuridine makes it possible to distinguish repair synthesis from normal synthesis. Analysis of the DNA synthesized at various times after irradiation clearly indicates that repair synthesis starts very quickly after irradiation and is completed within 3 to 4 hr. Immediately after irradiation, normal DNA synthesis is greatly depressed but gradually resumes until it predominates after 3 to 4 hr. The molecular weight of DNA strands is reduced and the net rate of DNA synthesis is depressed immediately after irradiation. Both of these parameters are restored to their pre-irradiation values by 3 to 4 hr after irradiation. During the repair period the majority of the pyrimidine dimers are removed. All of the data indicate that repair begins immediately after irradiation and is completed in 3 to 4 hr (about two thirds of a generation period).     

EXCISION REPAIR IN TETRAHYMENA: EVENTS FOLLOWING REFEEDING OF STARVED UV-IRRADIATED CELLS

Abstract —Starvation of early-log-phase Tetrahymena pyriformis in non-nutrient phosphate buffer for 24 h results in a 40 per cent increase in cell number, as well as a complete cessation of DNA synthesis. Low levels of DNA synthesis are detectable between 1 and 2h after starved cells are transferred to a nutrient medium. Larger amounts of DNA synthesis are detected after the first 2 h of refeeding, and one round of replication is complete 4.5 h after refeeding. Damage, caused by sublethal doses of UV radiation (254 nm) administered just prior to refeeding, to the DNA of starved Tetrahymena appears to be corrected by an excision-repair process after refeeding of starved, irradiated cells. Changes in buoyant density of DNA synthesized, rate of DNA synthesis, and the chromatographic distribution of photoproducts were investigated following refeeding of starved, irradiated cells. Excision repair begins 1 h after refeeding and appears to be essentially complete within 7 h. During this time, thymine dimers produced by irradiation are removed. Semiconservative DNA synthesis commences 2–3 h after the first appearance of excision repair. In addition, between 3 and 8 h after refeeding, the rate of DNA synthesis in irradiated, refed cultures is much lower than the rate of DNA synthesis in unirradiated, refed cultures. Also, the specific activity in vitro of DNA polymerase from irradiated refed cells is very much greater than that of polymerase from unirradiated, refed cells.     

DNA TURNOVER IN BUFFER-HELD ESCHERICHIA COLI AND ITS EFFECT ON REPAIR OF UV DAMAGE

Abstract— Continuous DNA degradation and resynthesis, without a net change in cellular DNA content, were observed in buffer-held, non-irradiated E. coli B/r. This constant DNA turnover probably involves most of the genome and reflects random sites of DNA repair due to the polA-dependent excision-resynthesis repair pathway. Under these non-growth conditions, it appears that at any given time there is a minimum of one repair site per 6.5 × 10⁶ daltons DNA, each of which is at least 160 nucleotides long.
While the amount of DNA degradation is not influenced by prior exposure to UV radiation, the synthetic activity decreases with increasing UV fluence. We suggest that when sites of DNA turnover occur opposite to cyclobutyl dipyrimidines in UV-irradiated cells, repair of the latter damage can be prevented. This implies that both beneficial and deleterious processes take place in irradiated buffer-held cells, and that cell survival depends on the delicate balance between DNA turnover and repair of UV-damage. Based on these findings, we propose a model to explain the limited repair observed during post-irradiation liquid-holding and to account for the large difference in cell survival between irradiation at low fluence rates (fluence-rate dependent recovery) and at high fluence rates followed by liquid-holding (liquid-holding recovery).     

INHIBITION OF DNA REPAIR AND PRODUCTION OF SINGLE-STRAND BREAKS IN ESCHERICHIA COLI BY REDUCTONE

Abstract— Reductone (HOCH₂COCHO), a keto-aldehyde produced by thermal degradation of some sugars, at alkaline pHs, blocks the excision repair of DNA lesions in uv-irradiated wild type Escherichia coli. This probably occurs as a result of inhibition of the exonucleolytic activity of DNA polymerase I. In addition, reductone alone induces DNA single-strand breaks. Repair of this damage is mainly dependent on the polA gene products.     

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.     

INDUCED REPAIR IN ESCHERICHIA COLI: INDUCTION BY ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT AT-79°C

Two of the phenomena associated with induced (S.O.S.) repair, namely induced inhibition of post radiation DNA degradation and induced radioresistance have been shown to be elicited by 245 nm radiation applied to E. coli cells in the frozen state at -79°C. The effect of radiation in this condition is considerably less photoreactivable than similar effects produced by exposure in the wet state. Since protein-DNA crosslinks are believed to be formed under these conditions, such consequences of UV radiation appear to be a potent inducer of induced repair.     

THE EXPRESSION OF LIQUID HOLDING RECOVERY IN ULTRAVIOLET-IRRADIATED ESCHERICHIA COLI REQUIRES A DEFICIENCY IN GROWTH MEDIUM-DEPENDENT DNA REPAIR

Ultraviolet (UV) irradiated Escherichia coli K-12 recA cells (but not rec⁺ cells) show enhanced survival if they are held in buffer prior to plating for viability. To understand the role of the recA mutation in this liquid holding recovery (LHR) phenomenon, we have studied LHR in a temperature sensitive recA 200 mutant. The detection of LHR requires that the irradiated cells be recA when they are plated on growth medium, but the recA deficiency plays no role during liquid holding (LH). We conclude that it is the extreme sensitivity of recA cells in growth medium to unrepaired DNA daughter-strand gaps that magnifies the beneficial effects of the excision repair of DNA lesions during LH. Furthermore, we demonstrate a correlation between a strain's inability to perform growth medium dependent repair and its ability to express LHR. The relative amount of LHR was: recA > recF > lexA > recB > wild type (with the recB and wild-type strains showing negative LHR). Two strains did not show this correlation; the uvrD strain showed less LHR than expected from its UV radiation sensitivity, while the polA strain showed more. The molecular bases for these exceptions are explored.     

EFFECT OF LIQUID HOLDING ON THE REPAIR OF PHOTOINDUCED DAMAGES IN ACRIFLAVINE SENSITIZED ESCHERICHIA COLI CELLS

Abstract— Damage caused by visible light in the presence of acriflavine can be repaired in various strains of Escherichia coli possessing one or the other repair mechanism. The number of viable cells of the irradiated E. coli cultures increases on holding in buffer. The results of liquid holding suggest that the major role played by holding in liquid medium is the removal of dye molecules from inside the cells; this would create a favourable condition for recovery during subsequent incubation.     

THE ROLE OF HOST-CELL REPAIR IN LIQUID-HOLDING RECOVERY OF U.V.-IRRADIATED ESCHERICHIA COLI

Abstract— The experiments reported give evidence that liquid-holding recovery (LHR) of u.v. irradiated E. coli cells involves basically the same type of dark repair which causes reactivation of phage and which results in much increased survival of the cells themselves [host-cell reactivation (HCR)]. LHR is very small in the two HCR(-) strains B syn^- and B_s-1, but occurs to larger but different extents in the three HCR(+) strains B, B/r, and B/r (Λ). LHR is inhibited if the liquid contains caffeine or acriflavine, both of which are known to inhibit HCR. The results indicate that most of the LHR effect, if not all, occurs during the liquid holding, rather than under growth conditions after liquid holding. It is assumed that the holding itself allows a prolonged time for, and therefore an enhancement of, HCR. It is thus implicit that LHR can be observed only where otherwise HCR of repairable u.v. damage would be incomplete, and that different extents of LHR, as observed in the three HCR(+) strains, reflect different extents of incompleteness of HCR. It is concluded that the repairable u.v. hits which are not fully repaired by HCR are predominantly those concerned with the extra u.v. sensitivity of the strains B and B/r (Λ), relative to B/r.     

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).     

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.     

EXCISION REPAIR OF PYRIMIDINE DIMERS IN MARSUPIAL CELLS

Monodelphis domestica was further characterized as a model for photobiological studies by measuring the excision repair capabilities of this mammal's cells both in vivo and in vitro. Excision repair capability of the established marsupial cell line, Pt K2 ( Potorous tridactylus ), was also determined. In animals held in the dark, we observed that ˜50% of the dimers were removed by 12 and 15 h after irradiation with 400 J m⁻² and 600 J m⁻², respectively, from an FS-40 sunlamp (280–400 nm). Cells from primary cultures of M. domestica excised ˜50% of the dimers by 24 h after irradiating with 50 J m⁻² and 36 h after exposure to 100 J m⁻² with no loss of dimers observed 24 h following a fluence of 300 J m⁻². Pt K2 cells were observed to have removed -50% of the dimers at -12 h after 50 J m⁻² with only -10% of the dimers removed at 24 h following 300 J m⁻². The observed loss of pyrimidine dimers from epidermal DNA of UV-irradiated animals and from fibroblasts in culture, held in the dark, suggests that these marsupial cells are capable of DNA excision repair.     

ULTRAVIOLET-INDUCED LETHALITY AND REVERSION TO PROTOTROPHY IN ESCHERICHIA COLI STRAINS WITH NORMAL AND REDUCED DARK REPAIR ABILITY

Abstract— Two derivatives of E. coli B/r having the same auxotrophic marker but differing in their ability to dark repair u.v.-induced dimers in DNA were compared for their sensitivity to u.v.-induced lethality and reversion to prototrophy. Ability to dark repair influenced both biological endpoints to the same extent. Thus, dimers may be primary photochemical lesions for both effects. A possible model for the system was proposed. According to this model, organisms which have more than a critical number of dimers are inactivated and organisms with the critical number or slightly fewer, survive as revertants. Post-irradiation influences which enhance or reduce repair of dimers, in effect shift the population distribution of dimers. The result is either a net increase or decrease in the number of revertants depending upon the U.V. dose and upon whether repair is enhanced or reduced.     

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.     

EXCISION REPAIR OF UVR-INDUCED PYRIMIDINE DIMERS IN CORNEAL DNA

Abstract— We measured excision repair of ultraviolet radiation (UVR)-induced pyrimidine dimers in DNA of the corneal epithelium of the marsupial, Monodelphis domestica , using damage-specific nucleases from Micrococcus luteus in conjunction with agarose gel electrophoresis. We observed that 100 J ^-2 of UVR from aFS–40 sunlamp(280–400 nm) induced an average of 2.2 ± 0.2 times 10^-2 endonuclease-sensitive sites per kilobase (ESS/kb) (pyrimidine dimers) and that ∼ 50% of the dimers were repaired within 12 h after exposure. We also determined that an exposure of 400 J m^-2 was needed to induce comparable numbers of pyrimidine dimers (2.5 times 10^-2) in the DNA of skin of M. domestica in vivo . In addition, we found that 50% of the dimers were also removed from the epidermal cells of M. domestica within 12 h after exposure. A dose of 100 J m^-2 was necessary to induce similar levels of pyrimidine dimers (2.0 ± 0.2 times 10^-2) in the DNA of the cultured marsupial cell line Pt K2 ( Potorous tridactylus ).     

POSTREPLICATION REPAIR IN AN EXCISION-DEFECTIVE MUTANT OF ESCHERICHIA COLI: ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT-INDUCED INCORPORATION OF BROMODEOXYURIDINE INTO PARENTAL DNA*

Abstract— Ultraviolet (UV) light-induced incorporation of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd) into parental DNA of an excision-defective mutant of Escherichia coli has been observed by selective photolysis of bromouracil (BrUra)-containing regions in the parental DNA. It appears that the BrUra-containing regions occur only in that DNA which has served as a template for normal semiconservative replication. After an exposure at 254 nm which results in one pyrimidine dimer per 45times 10⁶ daltons, incubation in BrdUrd resulted in BrUra–containing regions ˜ 1.5 times 10⁴ nucleotides in length at intervals of ˜ 55 times 10⁶ daltons in the parental DNA. Thus approximately one BrUra-containing region has occurred for every 1.2 pyrimidine dimers in the parental DNA. The observed incorporation of BrdUrd is interpreted in terms of a proposed model for postreplication repair in which genetic exchanges produce single-strand gaps in the parental DNA.     

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.