Plate assay for chemical- and radiation-induced mutagenesis of CAN1 in yeast as a function of post-treatment DNA replication: the effect of rad6-1

An agar post-treatment method was used to monitor levels of ultraviolte light-and hydrazine-induced mutagenesis at CAN1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a function of post-treatment cell division prior to selection for canavanine-resistant mutants with a top-agar overlay containing canavanine. The advantage of this method is that its permits reliable measurements of mutation induction during the early period before, during, and after the first round of post-treatment DNA replication. In strains that are wild-type for DNA repair, ultraviolet light mutagenesis appears to be a pre-replicative phenomenon, while mutation by hydrazine involves a replicative or post-replicative mechanism. Most chemical mutagenesis in yeast requires a functional RAD6 gene. Hydrazine mutability is also reduced by rad6-1, suggesting a possible misrepair mechanism.