Repair of ultraviolet light-induced damage in Micrococcus radiophilus, an extremely resistant microorganism

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Abstract
Repair of UV radiation damage was examined in an extremely radioresistant organism, M. radiophilus. Measurement of the number of thymine-containing dimers formed as a function of UV dose suggests that the ability of this organism to withstand high doses of UV radiation (20,000 ergs/mm2) is not related to protective screening by pigments. M. radiophilus carries out a rapid excision of thymine dimers at doses of UV light up to 10,000 ergs/mm2. Synthesis of DNA is reduced after irradiation, but after removal of photodamage the rate approaches that in unirradiated cells. A comparison is drawn with M. luteus and M. radiodurans. The extremely high resistance to UV irradiation in M. radiophilus is at least partly due to the presence of an efficient excision repair system.

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