Suppression of polarity in the gal operon by ultraviolet irradiation.

The polarity of nonsense mutations in the galE gene of Escherichia coli can be suppressed by rho mutations (O. Reyes et al., J. Bacteriol. 126:1108-1112, 1976). We show here that this polarity can also be suppressed by ultraviolet irradiation. The effect is analogous to that already observed for polar nonsense mutations in phi X174 and S13 and suggests that ultraviolet irradiation suppression of polarity may be a general phenomenon.