Resistance of spores of Bacillus species to ultraviolet light

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Abstract
Dormant spores of the various Bacillus species, including B. subtilis, are 5 to 50 times more resistant to UV radiation than are the corresponding growing cells. This elevated spore UV resistance is due to: a) the photochemistry of DNA within spores, as UV generates few if any cyclobutane dimers, but rather a photoproduct (Fig. 1) called spore photoproduct (SP; 5‐thyminyl‐5,6‐dihydrothymine); and b) DNA repair, in particular SP‐specific repair, during spore germination. The novel UV photochemistry of spore DNA is largely due to its saturation with a group of small, acid‐soluble proteins (SASP), which are unique to spores and whose binding alters the DNA conformation and thus its photochemistry. SP‐specific repair is also unique to spores and is carried out by a light‐independent SP‐lyase, an iron‐sulfur protein that utilizes S‐adenosylmethionine to catalyze SP monomerization without DNA backbone cleavage. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 38:97–104, 2001.

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