Requirement for Protein Synthesis inrec-Dependent Repair of Deoxyribonucleic Acid inEscherichia coliafter Ultraviolet or X Irradiation

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Abstract
Deprivation of amino acids required for growth or treatment with chloramphenicol or puromycin after irradiation reduced the survival of Rec+cells ofEscherichia coliK-12 which had been exposed to either ultraviolet (UV) or X radiation. In contrast, these treatments caused little or no reduction in the survival of irradiatedrecAorrecBmutants. The effect of chloramphenicol on the survival of X-irradiated cells was correlated with an inhibition of repair of single-strand breaks in irradiated deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), previously shown to be controlled byrecAandrecB. In UV-irradiated cells no effect of chloramphenicol was detected on the repair of single-strand discontinuities in DNA replicated from UV-damaged templates, a process controlled byrecAbut not byrecB. From this we concluded that inhibiting protein synthesis in UV or X-irradiated cells may interfere with some biochemical step in repair dependent upon therecBgene. When irradiated Rec+cells were cultured for a sufficient period of time in minimal growth medium before chloramphenicol treatment their survival was no longer decreased by the drug. After X irradiation this occurred in less than one generation time of the unirradiated control cells. After UV irradiation it occurred more slowly and was only complete after several generation times of the unirradiated controls. These observations indicated that replication of the entire irradiated genome was probably not required forrec-dependent repair of X-irradiated cells, although it might be required forrec-dependent repair of UV-irradiated cells.