Thymineless death and its relation to UV sensitivity in Escherichia coli.

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Abstract
Thymineless death in various strains of E. coli was examined and compared with sensitivity to UV irradiation and mitomycin (MC) treatment; E. coli B, a strain ultrasensitive to UV and MC, displayed a new unexpected sensitivity to thymine deprivation. Instead of the usual delayed response to thymine starvation, death commenced immediately and at an exponential rate about twice that ultimately obtained in B/r. Thymineless death in UV-and MC-ultrasensitive strains of E. coli K12 proceeded with the usual lag of about 50 min. before the onset of cell death. A single defect in (DNA) repair cannot satisfactorily account for both ultrasensitivity to thymineless death and ultrasensitivity to either UV or MC.