Effects of SOS and MucAB functions on reactivation and mutagenesis of M13 replicative form DNA bearing bulky lesions

We have previously determined the specificity of -1 frameshifts induced by aflatoxin-B1-2,3-dichloride (AFB1C12) in phage M13 double-strand replicative form (RF) DNA. The system consists of: (i) in vitro adduction of RF DNA of BK8, a lacZ + 1 frameshift derivative of phage M13mp8; (ii) transfection into unirradiated or UV-irradiated bacterial host cells; (iii) scoring and sequencing of revertants (i.e., -1 frameshifts). The previous data had shown that induction of SOS functions enhanced mutagenesis. However, this increase in mutagenesis is not accompanied by enhanced survival in a majority of the strains tested. Here, we present evidence to show that the lack of SOS reactivation is a specific property of the RF DNA system rather than a specific property of the lesion. A model mechanism based on the replicative strategy of transfected RF DNA can account for these observations. In addition, we have calculated individual Weigle mutagenesis factors at 8 major mutagen induced sites reported previously. Analysis of these data indicates that, within a restricted subset of possible mutational events (i.e., -1 frameshifts), Weigle mutagenesis is affected by both the DNA sequence environment of the mutation site as well as the repair phenotype of the cell.     

DNA sequence analysis of mutations induced by N-2-acetylamino-7-iodofluorene in plasmid pBR322 in Escherichia coli

The spectrum of mutations induced by N-2-acetylamino-7-iodofluorene (AAIF) was analyzed in a forward mutation system based on mutagenesis directed to a small restriction fragment in the tetracycline resistance gene of plasmid pBR322. AAIF was found to induce frameshift mutations and base-pair substitutions at approximately equal frequencies. The frameshift mutations were mostly deletions of single base-pairs, but -2 frameshifts and +1 frameshifts were also detected. With one exception, the substitutions were transversions initiated at a G.C base-pair. Both frameshift mutations and transversions occurred preferentially at sites of repetitive guanine residues. Although AAIF and the related aromatic amines N-2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF) and N-2-aminofluorene (AF) all bind to the C-8 position of guanine, they have different effects on DNA conformation, and these differences are reflected in their mutation spectra. Previous studies have provided evidence that AAF adducts can trigger a B to Z conformational change in alternating GC sequences or displacement of the guanine by the fluorene ring in other sequences; the principal result is two classes of frameshift mutations. AF, whose DNA interaction involves outside binding rather than insertion and denaturation, primarily induces base-pair substitutions. AAIF adducts are chemically similar to AAF adducts, but the iodo group apparently hinders insertion of the fluorene ring into DNA. Consistent with this model, the mutation spectrum of AAIF combines properties of the mutation spectra of both AAF and AF.     

Frameshift mutagenesis by ultraviolet and gamma radiations in Salmonella: SOS inducibility and effects of DNA polymerase I

Ultraviolet (UV) and gamma-induced mutagenesis have been studied using a doubly auxotrophic strain of Salmonella typhimurium carrying the amber leuA150 mutation (which reverts by base-pair substitution) and the frameshift hisC3076 marker (which reverts by compensating frameshifts). In the initially constructed LT2 background, both markers were poorly revertible by UV and essentially non-revertible by gamma-radiation. A derivative of this strain carrying the mutation-enhancing plasmid pKM101 was however readily reverted by both UV and gamma, with either Leu+ (base substitution) or His+ (frameshift) revertants being observed on appropriate selective media. Photoreactivation experiments suggested that the lesions leading to formation of the two types of mutagenic event were similar if not identical. Support for this suggestion was obtained when it was found that yields of both types of UV-induced revertant were significantly increased in an excision-deficient background, while no revertants of either type were found in a recA background. Yields of gamma-induced revertants were not greatly altered in a uvrB background, but were also reduced to zero (for both markers) in the recA background. These results are consistent with what has previously been well-documented for UV and gamma-induced base-pair substitution mutagenesis, and serve to emphasize the similarities between base-pair substitution mutagenesis and frameshift mutagenesis by these agents. There are differences, however, since although UV-induced reversion of the leuA150 marker was little affected and gamma-induced reversion of leuA150 was somewhat reduced in the presence of a polA mutation (polA3), the yields of His+ frameshift revertants were significantly increased in the polA3 background following treatment with either UV or gamma. Thus while inducible DNA repair (SOS repair) appears to be involved in generating both types of mutational event following either UV- or gamma-irradiation, at some stage in the processing of premutational lesions the level (or type) of DNA polymerase I activity in the cell seems to have an important role in determining whether or not frameshifts or base-pair substitutions will be produced at a particular frequency.     

The effect of sequence context on spontaneous Polzeta-dependent mutagenesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The Polζ translesion synthesis (TLS) DNA polymerase is responsible for over 50% of spontaneous mutagenesis and virtually all damage-induced mutagenesis in yeast. We previously demonstrated that reversion of the lys2ΔA746 −1 frameshift allele detects a novel type of +1 frameshift that is accompanied by one or more base substitutions and depends completely on the activity of Polζ. These ‘complex’ frameshifts accumulate at two discrete hotspots (HS1 and HS2) in the absence of nucleotide excision repair, and accumulate at a third location (HS3) in the additional absence of the translesion polymerase Polη. The current study investigates the sequence requirements for accumulation of Polζ-dependent complex frameshifts at these hotspots. We observed that transposing 13 bp of identity from HS1 or HS3 to a new location within LYS2 was sufficient to recapitulate these hotspots. In addition, altering the sequence immediately upstream of HS2 had no effect on the activity of the hotspot. These data support a model in which misincorporation opposite a lesion precedes and facilitates the selected slippage event. Finally, analysis of nonsense mutation revertants indicates that Polζ can simultaneously introduce multiple base substitutions in the absence of an accompanying frameshift event.     

Spontaneous mutators of salmonella typhimurium LT2 generated by insertion of transposable elements.

Spontaneous mutators of Salmonella typhimurium LT2 were generated by inserting the transposable element Tn5 or Tn10 into the bacterial chromosome. Two mutators mapped at the position of the mutH and mutL loci of S. typhimurium, and two other mutators mapped at positions corresponding to the mutS and uvrD loci of Escherichia coli. A fifth mutator, mutB, did not map at a position corresponding to any of the known mutators of S. typhimurium or E. coli. The mutH,L,S and uvrD alleles increased the frequency of both spontaneous base substitution and frameshift mutations, whereas the mutB allele increased the frequency only of spontaneous base substitution mutations. The increased frequency of base substitution mutations was recA+ independent in the mutH, mutL, and uvrD strains and partially recA+ independent in the mutS strain. The uvrD mutation decreased the resistance of the cells to killing by ultraviolet irradiation. The mutH,L,S and uvrD strains showed an increased sensitivity to mutagenesis by the alkylating agents methyl methane sulfonate and ethyl methane sulfonate, but not to mutagenesis by 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide.     

A Set of Lacz Mutations in Escherichia Coli That Allow Rapid Detection of Specific Frameshift Mutations

We have used site-directed mutagenesis to alter bases in lacZ near the region encoding essential residues in the active site of beta-galactosidase. The altered sequences generate runs of six or seven identical base pairs which create a frameshift, resulting in a Lac- phenotype. Reversion to Lac+ in each strain can occur only by a specific frameshift at these sequences. Monotonous runs of A's (or of T's on the opposite strand) and G's (or C's) have been constructed, as has an alternating -C-G- sequence. These specific frameshift indicator strains complement a set of six previously described strains which detect each of the base substitutions. We have examined a variety of mutagens and mutators for their ability to cause reversion to Lac+. Surprisingly, frameshifts are well stimulated at many of these runs by ethyl methanesulfonate, N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine and 2-amino-purine, mutagens not widely known to induce frameshifts. A comparison of ethyl methanesulfonate, N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine and 2-aminopurine frameshift specificity with that found with a mutH strain suggests that these mutagens partially or fully saturate or inactivate the methylation-directed mismatch repair system and allow replication errors leading to frameshifts to escape repair. This results in a form of indirect mutagenesis, which can be detected at certain sites.     

Mutagenic specificity of ultraviolet light

Genetic and sequencing studies of ultraviolet light (u.v.)-induced mutations in the lacI gene of Escherichia coli show the following: u.v. stimulates many types of mutations. In lacI, base substitutions account for 60 to 65% of the observed mutations, small frameshifts 30 to 35%, and deletions of more than several base-pairs approximately 5%. A comparison of the mutational spectrum of u.v.-induced mutations with those of other SOS-dependent mutagens and with the mutations produced by inducing the SOS system in the absence of mutagenic treatment indicates that most u.v.-induced base substitutions are "targeted", resulting from premutational lesions across from the site of the mutations. Among base substitutions, both transitions and transversions occur, although the most favored mutational sites involve G X C----A X T transitions. G X C----A X T transitions are induced preferentially at sites of adjacent pyrimidines. In one case the conversion of a site from -A-C-A- to -T-C-A- results in a 15-fold increase in u.v.-induced C----T transitions. Frameshifts at certain sites are well-induced by u.v., and the largest hotspot in the I gene involves the loss of an (sequence in text) base pair from a (sequence in text) sequence. Of 25 frameshifts detected by DNA sequencing, 23 mutations at seven different sites result from the elimination of a single base-pair, and two mutations result from the elimination of two base-pairs. No additions were detected. The use of a lacI-Z fusion system, which allows direct selection of frameshifts of either sign, reveals that throughout the entire gene frameshifts that eliminate a single base-pair (-1) predominate by a factor of 20 or more over frameshifts that add a single base-pair (+1). In one case a two-base-pair elimination occurs frequently, resulting in the loss of a -C-T- sequence (on one strand), or a -T-C- sequence, from a -C-T-C-T-C-T-C- sequence. For both frameshifts and base substitutions, some aspect of the larger surrounding sequence beyond the nearest neighbors can influence mutation rates by as much as 50-fold, thus determining which sites are seen as hotspots. The bearing of these and other data on the detailed mechanism of mutagenesis is considered in the Discussion.     

Roles of RecA protein in spontaneous mutagenesis in Escherichia coli

To verify the extent of contribution of spontaneous DNA lesions to spontaneous mutagenesis, we have developed a new genetic system to examine simultaneously both forward mutations and recombination events occurring within about 600 base pairs of a transgenic rpsL target sequence located on Escherichia coli chromosome. In a wild-type strain, the recombination events were occurring at a frequency comparable to that of point mutations within the rpsL sequence. When the cells were UV-irradiated, the recombination events were induced much more sharply than point mutations. In a recA null mutant, no recombination event was observed. These data suggest that the blockage of DNA replication, probably caused by spontaneous DNA lesions, occurs often in normally growing E. coli cells and is mainly processed by cellular functions requiring the RecA protein. However, the recA mutant strain showed elevated frequencies of single-base frameshifts and large deletions, implying a novel mutator action of this strain. A similar mutator action of the recA mutant was also observed with a plasmid-based rpsL mutation assay. Therefore, if the recombinogenic problems in DNA replication are not properly processed by the RecA function, these would be a potential source for mutagenesis leading to single-base frameshift and large deletion in E. coli. Furthermore, the single-base frameshifts induced in the recA-deficient cells appeared to be efficiently suppressed by the mutS-dependent mismatch repair system. Thus, it seems likely that the single-base frameshifts are derived from slippage errors that are not directly caused by DNA lesions but made indirectly during some kind of error-prone DNA synthesis in the recA mutant cells.     

Mutagenicity of coolwhite fluorescent light for Salmonella

The most common fluorescent lamps in use today in homes and businesses in the United States, 'coolwhite' fluorescent lamps, emit light that is mutagenic for Salmonella. Strains that carry both a uvrB mutation and plasmid pKM101 are extremely susceptible to this light-induced mutation. Both base substitution and frameshift mutations can be induced without substantial lethal effects on the bacteria. Induced mutations accumulate essentially as a linear function of the time bacteria are exposed to illumination. Of Salmonella histidine-requiring strains with known nucleotide target sequences (Hartman et al., 1986; Cebula and Koch, 1989, 1990), strains either carrying one of the base substitution mutations, hisG428 and hisG46, or one of the frameshifts, hisC3076 and hisD6610, are most highly mutagenized whereas frameshift strains with hisD6580 and hisD3052 exhibit lower rates of mutagenesis. Mutagenicity does not appear to require the presence of oxygen. A filter blocking wavelengths below 370 nm eliminates mutagenesis. Polystyrene, cellulose acetate and, especially, mylar and glass filters reduce mutagenesis, indicating that at least some of the mutagenic effects can be attributed to leakage of radiations below 290 nm (far-ultraviolet light) from 'coolwhite' lamps. The more recently introduced fluorescent 'softwhite' lamps are roughly 10-fold less mutagenic at approximately equal light intensity. Incandescent light bulbs are much less mutagenic than are these fluorescent lamps. Our mutational data correlate closely with previous results in eukaryotic cells (Jacobson and Krell, 1982). A uvrB recA Salmonella double mutant is hypersensitive to the lethal effects of coolwhite fluorescent light, even when illuminated through the lids of glass Petri dishes. Thus, appropriate Salmonella strains would appear to be simple and useful screens for both the mutagenic and the lethal activities of fluorescent lamps. These systems are amenable to classroom laboratory use as relatively safe and effective means of demonstrating environmental mutagenesis.     

Complex Frameshift Mutations Mediated by Plasmid Pkm101: Mutational Mechanisms Deduced from 4-Aminobiphenyl-Induced Mutation Spectra in Salmonella

We used colony probe hybridization and polymerase chain reaction/DNA sequence analysis to determine the mutations in ~2,400 4-aminobiphenyl (4-AB) +S9-induced revertants of the -1 frameshift allele hisD3052 and of the base-substitution allele hisG46 of Salmonella typhimurium. Most of the mutations occurred at sites containing guanine, which is the primary base at which 4-AB forms DNA adducts. A hotspot mutation involving the deletion of a CG or GC within the sequence CGCGCGCG accounted for 100 and 99.9%, respectively, of the reversion events at the hisD3052 allele in the pKM101 plasmid-minus strains TA1978 (uvr(+)) and TA1538 (δuvrB). In strain TA98 (δuvrB, pKM101), which contained the SOS DNA repair system provided by the pKM101 plasmid, ~85% of the revertants also contained the hotspot deletion; the remaining ~15% contained one of two types of mutations: (1) complex frameshifts that can be described as a -2 or + 1 frameshift and an associated base substitution and (2) deletions of the CC or GG sequences that flank the hotspot site (CCGCGCGCGG). We propose a misincorporation/slippage model to account for these mutations in which (1) pKM101-mediated misincorporation and translesion synthesis occurs across a 4-AB-adducted guanine; (2) the instability of such a mispairing and/or the presence of the adduct leads to strand slippage in a run of repeated bases adjacent to the adducted guanine; and (3) continued DNA synthesis from the slipped intermediate produces a frameshift associated with a base substitution. This model readily accounts for the deletion of the CC or GG sequences flanking the hotspot site, indicating that these mutations are, in fact, complex mutations in disguise (i.e., cryptic complex frameshifts). The inferred base-substitution specificity associated with the complex frameshifts at the hisD3052 allele (primarily G·C -> T·A transversions) is consistent with the finding that 4-AB induced primarily G·C -> T·A transversions at the hisG46 base-substitution allele. The model also provides a framework for understanding the different relative mutagenic potencies of 4-AB at the two alleles in the various DNA repair backgrounds of Salmonella.     

Mechanisms of ultraviolet-induced mutation. Mutational spectra in the Escherichia coli lacI gene for a wild-type and an excision-repair-deficient strain

We have analyzed the DNA sequence changes in a total of 409 ultraviolet light-induced mutations in the lacI gene of Escherichia coli: 227 in a Uvr+ and 182 in a UvrB- strain. Both differences and similarities were observed. In both strains the mutations were predominantly (60 to 75%) base substitutions, followed by smaller contributions of single-base frameshifts, deletions and frameshift hotspot mutations. The base substitutions proved largely similar in the two strains but differences were observed among the single-base frameshifts, the deletions and the hotspot mutations. Among the base substitutions, both transitions (72.5%) and transversions (27.5%) were observed. The largest single group was G.C----A.T (60% of all base substitutions). The sites where G.C----A.T changes occurred were strongly correlated (97.5%) with sequences of adjacent pyrimidines, indicating mutation targeted ultraviolet photoproducts. Comparable amounts of mutation occurred at cytosine/cytosine and (mixed) cytosine/thymine sites. From an analysis of the prevalence of mutation at either the 5' or 3' side of a dipyrimidine, we conclude that both cyclobutane dimers and (6-4) lesions may contribute to mutation. Despite the general similarity of the base-substitution spectra between the wild-type and excision-defective strains, a number of sites were uniquely mutable in the UvrB- strain. Analysis of their surrounding DNA sequences suggested that, in addition to damage directly at the site of mutation, the potential for nearby opposite-strand damage may be important in determining the mutability of a site. The ultraviolet light-induced frameshift mutations were largely single-base losses. Inspection of the DNA sequences at which the frameshifts occurred suggested that they resulted from targeted mutagenesis, probably at cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers. The prevalence of frameshift mutations at homodimers (TT or CC) suggests that their formation involves local misalignment (slippage) and that base-pairing properties are partially retained in cyclobutane dimers. While the frameshift mutations in the Uvr+ strain were distributed over many different sites, more than half in the UvrB- strain were concentrated at a single site. Ultraviolet light-induced deletions as well as frameshift hotspot mutations (+/- TGGC at positions 620 to 632) are considered to be examples of untargeted or semitargeted mutagenesis. Hotspot mutations in the Uvr+ strain showed an increased contribution by (-)TGGC relative to (+)TGGC, indicating that ultraviolet light may specifically promote the loss of the four bases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Strand asymmetry of +1 frameshift mutagenesis at a homopolymeric run by DNA polymerase III holoenzyme of Escherichia coli

We have recently shown that single-base frameshifts were predominant among mutations induced within the rpsL target sequence upon oriC plasmid DNA replication in vitro. We found that the occurrence of +1 frameshifts at a run of 6 residues of dA/dT could be increased proportionally by increasing the concentration of dATP present in the in vitro replication. Using single-stranded circular DNA containing either the coding sequence of the rpsL gene or its complementary sequence, the +1 frameshift mutagenesis by DNA polymerase III holoenzyme of Escherichia coli was extensively examined. A(6) --> A(7) frameshifts occurred 30 to 90 times more frequently during DNA synthesis with the noncoding sequence (dT tract) template than with the coding sequence (dA tract). Excess dATP enhanced the occurrence of +1 frameshifts during DNA synthesis with the dT tract template, but no other dNTPs showed such an effect. In the presence of 0.1 mM dATP, the A(6) --> A(7) mutagenesis with the dT tract template was not inhibited by 1.5 mM dCTP, which is complementary to the residue immediately upstream of the dT tract. These results strongly suggested that the A(6) --> A(7) frameshift mutagenesis possesses an asymmetric strand nature and that slippage errors leading to the +1 frameshift are made during chain elongation within the tract rather than by misincorporation of nucleotides opposite residues next to the tract.     

Mutator specificity of Escherichia coli alkB117 allele

The Escherichia coli AlkB protein encoded by alkB gene was recently found to repair cytotoxic DNA lesions 1-methyladenine (1-meA) and 3-methylcytosine (3-meC) by using a novel iron-catalysed oxidative demethylation mechanism that protects the cell from the toxic effects of methylating agents. Mutation in alkB results in increased sensitivity to MMS and elevated level of MMS-induced mutations. The aim of this study was to analyse the mutational specificity of alkB117 in a system developed by J.H. Miller involving two sets of E. coli lacZ mutants, CC101-106 allowing the identification of base pair substitutions, and CC107-CC111 indicating frameshift mutations. Of the six possible base substitutions, the presence of alkB117 allele led to an increased level of GC-->AT transitions and GC-->TA and AT-->TA transversions. After MMS treatment the level of GC-->AT transitions increased the most, 22-fold. Among frameshift mutations, the most numerous were -2CG, -1G, and -1A deletions and +1G insertion. MMS treatment appreciably increased all of the above types of frameshifts, with additional appearance of the +1A insertion.     

Influence of DNA repair on mutation spectra in Salmonella

This paper reviews the influence of DNA repair on spontaneous and mutagen-induced mutation spectra at the base-substitution (hisG46) and -1 frameshift (hisD3052) alleles present in strains of the Salmonella (Ames) mutagenicity assay. At the frameshift allele (mostly a CGCGCGCG target), ΔuvrB influences the frequency of spontaneous hotspot mutations (−CG), duplications, and deletions, and it also shifts the sites of deletions and duplications. Cells with pKM101+ΔuvrB spontaneously produce complex frameshifts (frameshifts with an adjacent base substitution). The spontaneous frequency of 1-base insertions or concerted (templated) mutations is unaffected by DNA repair, and neither mutation is inducible by mutagens. Glu-P-1, 1-nitropyrene (1NP), and 2-acetylaminofluorene (2AAF) induce only hotspot mutations and are unaffected by pKM101, whereas benzo(a)pyrene and 4-aminobiphenyl induce only hotspot in pKM101⁻, and hotspot plus complex in pKM101⁺. At the base-substitution allele (mostly a CC/GG target), the ΔuvrB allele increases spontaneous transitions in the absence of pKM101 and increases transversions in its presence. The frequency of suppressor mutations is decreased 4× by ΔuvrB, but increased 7.5× by pKM101. Both repair factors cause a shift in the proportion of mutations to the second position of the CC/GG target. With UV light and γ-rays, the ΔuvrB allele increases the proportion of transitions relative to transversions. pKM101 is required for mutagenesis by Glu-P-1 and 4-AB, and the types and positions of the substitutions are not altered by the addition of the ΔuvrB allele. Changes in DNA repair appear to cause more changes in spontaneous than in mutagen-induced mutation spectra at both alleles. There is a high correlation (r²=0.8) between a mutagen's ability to induce complex frameshifts and its relative base-substitution/frameshift mutagenic potency. A mutagen induces the same primary class of base substitution in TA100 (ΔuvrB, pKM101) as it does in Escherichia coli, mammalian cells, or rodents as well as in the p53 gene of human tumors associated with exposure to that mutagen. Thus, a mutagen induces the same primary class of base substitution in most organisms, reflecting the conserved nature of DNA replication and repair processes.     

Mutational spectrum analysis of umuC-independent and umuC-dependent gamma-radiation mutagenesis in Escherichia coli

gamma-Radiation mutagenesis (oxic versus anoxic) was examined in wild-type, umuC and recA strains of Escherichia coli K-12. Mutagenesis [argE3(Oc)----Arg+] was blocked in a delta (recA-srlR)306 strain at the same doses that induced mutations in umuC122::Tn5 and wild-type strains, indicating that both umuC-independent and umuC-dependent mechanisms function within recA-dependent misrepair. Analyses of various suppressor and back mutations that result in argE3 and hisG4 ochre reversion and an analysis of trpE9777 (+1 frameshift) reversion were performed on umuC and wild-type cells irradiated in the presence and absence of oxygen. While the umuC strain showed the gamma-radiation induction of base substitution and frameshifts when irradiated in the absence of oxygen, the umuC mutation blocked all oxygen-dependent base-substitution mutagenesis, but not all oxygen-dependent frameshift mutagenesis. For anoxically irradiated cells, the yields of GC----AT [i.e., at the supB and supE (Oc) loci] and AT----GC transitions (i.e., at the argE3 and hisG4 loci) were essentially umuC independent, while the yields of (AT or GC)----TA transversions (i.e., at the supC, supL, supM, supN and supX loci) were heavily umuC dependent. These data suggest new concepts about the nature of the DNA lesions and the mutagenic mechanisms that lead to gamma-radiation mutagenesis.     

Frameshift mutagenesis in Escherichia coli by reversible DNA intercalators: sequence specificity

The mutagenic potency of the simple reversible intercalators isopropyl-OPC (iPr-OPC) and 9-aminoacridine (9-AA) is assessed in E. coli using reversion assays based on plasmids derived from pBR322 carrying various frameshift mutations within the tetracycline resistance gene in repetitive sequences: +/- 2 frameshift mutations within alternating GC sequences; +/- 1 frameshift mutation at runs of guanines. The results obtained show that iPr-OPC and 9-AA have a sequence specificity for mutagenesis: they revert +1 and -1 frameshift mutations within runs of monotonous G:C base pairs. The precise determination of the size of a small restriction fragment which contains the mutation allowed us to demonstrate that reversion occurred by -1 deletions for the +1 frameshift mutations and by +1 additions for the -1 frameshift mutations. The possible relations of this specific reversion with the base sequence specificity of the mutagenesis are briefly discussed.     

Ultraviolet light-induced mutagenesis in the Escherichia coli chromosome. Sequences of mutants in the cI gene of a lambda lysogen

DNA sequences were determined for 56 mutations induced by ultraviolet light in the lambda cI gene of an Escherichia coli uvr+ lysogen, which should reflect those occurring in the E. coli chromosome. The spectrum of mutagenesis was similar to that found in the cI gene of irradiated phase assayed in uvr- host cells, except that the fraction of transversions is about 35% in prophage and about 15% in phage. The cause of this difference is not known. Of 17 frameshifts in phage and prophage, six have an accompanying base substitution. These double mutational events are consistent with a model in which a photoproduct in a template can cause a DNA polymerase to insert a wrong base and destabilize the next few bases added, thus leading to a frameshift by a slippage mechanism.     

Defect in excision repair alters the mutational specificity of PUVA treatment in the lacI gene of Escherichia coli

The sequences of 152 lacI- mutations obtained following exposure of Escherichia coli UvrB- strain NR3951 to ultraviolet light in the presence of 8-methoxypsoralen (PUVA treatment) were compared to the spectrum of mutation induced by PUVA treatment in a Uvr+ strain, NR3835. Mutations recovered following PUVA treatment of the UvrB- strain were quite different from those recovered in the Uvr+ strain. In addition, they occurred at a restricted number of unique sites. For example, A.T----T.A base substitutions at position 141, minus G frameshifts at positions 586/587/588 and deletions of 15 base-pairs from position 78 to 92 accounted for 50% or more of mutations recovered in each of the above mutational classes. This altered mutational specificity was accompanied by a failure to recover mutations frequently identified following PUVA treatment of the Uvr+ strain. These mutations include spontaneous-hotspot frameshifts involving the gain or loss of a tetramer 5'-CTGG-3' repeated three times at position 620 to 631; and minus A.T base-pair frameshifts recovered at potential T-T crosslink sites. These results indicate that while crosslinks may play a substantial role in the induction of mutation in the Uvr+ strain, they do not contribute substantially to mutagenesis in the UvrB- strain. In addition, the data also suggest that excision repair may not always occur in an error-free manner.     

A Major Role for Bacteriophage T4 DNA Polymerase in Frameshift Mutagenesis

T4 DNA polymerase strongly influences the frequency and specificity of frameshift mutagenesis. Fifteen of 19 temperature-sensitive alleles of the DNA polymerase gene substantially influenced the reversion frequencies of frameshift mutations measured in the T4 rII genes. Most polymerase mutants increased frameshift frequencies, but a few alleles (previously noted as antimutators for base substitution mutations) decreased the frequencies of certain frameshifts while increasing the frequencies of others. The various patterns of enhanced or decreased frameshift mutation frequencies suggest that T4 DNA polymerase is likely to play a variety of roles in the metabolic events leading to frameshift mutation. A detailed genetic study of the specificity of the mutator properties of three DNA polymerase alleles (tsL56, tsL98 and tsL88) demonstrated that each produces a distinctive frameshift spectrum. Differences in frameshift frequencies at similar DNA sequences within the rII genes, the influence of mutant polymerase alleles on these frequencies, and the presence or absence of the dinucleotide sequence associated with initiation of Okazaki pieces at the frameshift site has led us to suggest that the discontinuities associated with discontinuous DNA replication may contribute to spontaneous frameshift mutation frequencies in T4.     

Non-targeted mutagenesis of unirradiated lambda phage in Escherichia coli host cells irradiated with ultraviolet light

Non-targeted mutagenesis of lambda phage by ultraviolet light is the increase over background mutagenesis when non-irradiated phage are grown in irradiated Escherichia coli host cells. Such mutagenesis is caused by different processes from targeted mutagenesis, in which mutations in irradiated phage are correlated with photoproducts in the phage DNA. Non-irradiated phage grown in heavily irradiated uvr+ host cells showed non-targeted mutations, which were 3/4 frameshifts, whereas targeted mutations were 2/3 transitions. For non-targeted mutagenesis in heavily irradiated host cells, there were one to two mutant phage per mutant burst. From this and the pathways of lambda DNA synthesis, it can be argued that non-targeted mutagenesis involves a loss of fidelity in semiconservative DNA replication. A series of experiments with various mutant host cells showed a major pathway of non-targeted mutagenesis by ultraviolet light, which acts in addition to "SOS induction" (where cleavage of the LexA repressor by RecA protease leads to din gene induction): (1) the induction of mutants has the same dependence on irradiation for wild-type and for umuC host cells; (2) a strain in which the SOS pathway is constitutively induced requires irradiation to the same level as wild-type cells in order to fully activate non-targeted mutagenesis; (3) non-targeted mutagenesis occurs to some extent in irradiated recA recB cells. In cells with very low levels of PolI, the induction of non-targeted mutagenesis by ultraviolet light is enhanced. We propose that the major pathway for non-targeted mutagenesis in irradiated host cells involves binding of the enzyme DNA polymerase I to damaged genomic DNA, and that the low polymerase activity leads to frameshift mutations during semiconservative DNA replication. The data suggest that this process will play a much smaller role in ultraviolet mutagenesis of the bacterial genome than it does in the mutagenesis of lambda phage.