UV induction of coliphage 186: prophage induction as an SOS function.

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Abstract
Our results show that UV induction of the 186 prophage depends upon the phage function Tum, with the mutant phenotype of turbid plaques on mitomycin plates and the expression of which is controlled by the host LexA protein. Tum function, encoded near the right-hand end of the coliphage 196 chromosome, is under the control of promoter p95. This promoter is overlapped by a sequence closely related to the consensus sequence of the LexA-binding site. It is proposed that inactivation of LexA after UV irradiation (or by genetic means) leads to prophage induction by permitting expression of Tum which, by unknown means, induces prophage. This mechanism is basically different from that seen with the UV-inducible lambdoid coliphages, which are not regulated by LexA.