Temperature-dependent hypermutational phenotype in recA mutants of Thermus thermophilus HB27.

ABSTRACT: The recA gene from Thermus thermophilus HB27 was cloned and engineered to obtain insertion (recA::kat) and deletion (deltarecA) derivatives. Transcription of recA in this extreme thermophile was induced by mitomycin C, leading to the synthesis of a monocistronic mRNA. This DNA damage-mediated induction was dependent on the integrity of recA. In addition to UV sensitivity, the recA mutants of T. thermophilus showed severe pleiotropic defects, ranging from irregular nucleoid condensation and segregation to a dramatic reduction in viability during culture. An increase in the frequency of both carotenoidless and auxotrophic mutants within surviving cells of the deltarecA strain indicated a high mutation rate. As RecA is not required for plasmid transformation, we have used the alpha-lacZ gene

SUBMITTER: Castan P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC166453 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature