scholarly journals The mutT Defect Does Not Elevate Chromosomal Fragmentation in Escherichia coli Because of the Surprisingly Low Levels of MutM/MutY-Recognized DNA Modifications

2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (19) ◽  
pp. 6976-6988 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ella Rotman ◽  
Andrei Kuzminov

ABSTRACT Nucleotide pool sanitizing enzymes Dut (dUTPase), RdgB (dITPase), and MutT (8-oxo-dGTPase) of Escherichia coli hydrolyze noncanonical DNA precursors to prevent incorporation of base analogs into DNA. Previous studies reported dramatic AT→CG mutagenesis in mutT mutants, suggesting a considerable density of 8-oxo-G in DNA that should cause frequent excision and chromosomal fragmentation, irreparable in the absence of RecBCD-catalyzed repair and similar to the lethality of dut recBC and rdgB recBC double mutants. In contrast, we found mutT recBC double mutants viable with no signs of chromosomal fragmentation. Overproduction of the MutM and MutY DNA glycosylases, both acting on DNA containing 8-oxo-G, still yields no lethality in mutT recBC double mutants. Plasmid DNA, extracted from mutT mutM double mutant cells and treated with MutM in vitro, shows no increased relaxation, indicating no additional 8-oxo-G modifications. Our ΔmutT allele elevates the AT→CG transversion rate 27,000-fold, consistent with published reports. However, the rate of AT→CG transversions in our mutT + progenitor strain is some two orders of magnitude lower than in previous studies, which lowers the absolute rate of mutagenesis in ΔmutT derivatives, translating into less than four 8-oxo-G modifications per genome equivalent, which is too low to cause the expected effects. Introduction of various additional mutations in the ΔmutT strain or treatment with oxidative agents failed to increase the mutagenesis even twofold. We conclude that, in contrast to the previous studies, there is not enough 8-oxo-G in the DNA of mutT mutants to cause elevated excision repair that would trigger chromosomal fragmentation.

Genetics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 154 (2) ◽  
pp. 503-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongbo Liu ◽  
Stephen R Hewitt ◽  
John B Hays

Abstract Previous studies have demonstrated that the Escherichia coli MutHLS mismatch-repair system can process UV-irradiated DNA in vivo and that the human MSH2·MSH6 mismatch-repair protein binds more strongly in vitro to photoproduct/base mismatches than to “matched” photoproducts in DNA. We tested the hypothesis that mismatch repair directed against incorrect bases opposite photoproducts might reduce UV mutagenesis, using two alleles at E. coli lacZ codon 461, which revert, respectively, via CCC → CTC and CTT → CTC transitions. F′ lacZ targets were mated from mut+ donors into mutH, mutL, or mutS recipients, once cells were at substantial densities, to minimize spontaneous mutation prior to irradiation. In umu+ mut+ recipients, a range of UV fluences induced lac+ revertant frequencies of 4–25 × 10−8; these frequencies were consistently 2-fold higher in mutH, mutL, or mutS recipients. Since this effect on mutation frequency was unaltered by an Mfd− defect, it appears not to involve transcription-coupled excision repair. In mut+ umuC122::Tn5 bacteria, UV mutagenesis (at 60 J/m2) was very low, but mutH or mutL or mutS mutations increased reversion of both lacZ alleles roughly 25-fold, to 5–10 × 10−8. Thus, at UV doses too low to induce SOS functions, such as Umu2′D, most incorrect bases opposite occasional photoproducts may be removed by mismatch repair, whereas in heavily irradiated (SOS-induced) cells, mismatch repair may only correct some photoproduct/base mismatches, so UV mutagenesis remains substantial.


1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 414-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
X Nan ◽  
P Tate ◽  
E Li ◽  
A Bird

MeCP2 is a chromosomal protein that is concentrated in the centromeric heterochromatin of mouse cells. In vitro, the protein binds preferentially to DNA containing a single symmetrically methylated CpG. To find out whether the heterochromatic localization of MeCP2 depended on DNA methylation, we transiently expressed MeCP2-LacZ fusion proteins in cultured cells. Intact protein was targeted to heterochromatin in wild-type cells but was inefficiently localized in mutant cells with low levels of genomic DNA methylation. Deletions within MeCP2 showed that localization to heterochromatin required the 85-amino-acid methyl-CpG binding domain but not the remainder of the protein. Thus MeCP2 is a methyl-CpG-binding protein in vivo and is likely to be a major mediator of downstream consequences of DNA methylation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Almaz Nigatu Tesfahun ◽  
Marina Alexeeva ◽  
Miglė Tomkuvienė ◽  
Aysha Arshad ◽  
Prashanna Guragain ◽  
...  

DNA polymerase III mis-insertion may, where not corrected by its 3′→ 5′ exonuclease or the mismatch repair (MMR) function, result in all possible non-cognate base pairs in DNA generating base substitutions. The most thermodynamically unstable base pair, the cytosine (C)⋅C mismatch, destabilizes adjacent base pairs, is resistant to correction by MMR in Escherichia coli, and its repair mechanism remains elusive. We present here in vitro evidence that C⋅C mismatch can be processed by base excision repair initiated by the E. coli formamidopyrimidine-DNA glycosylase (Fpg) protein. The kcat for C⋅C is, however, 2.5 to 10 times lower than for its primary substrate 8-oxoguanine (oxo8G)⋅C, but approaches those for 5,6-dihydrothymine (dHT)⋅C and thymine glycol (Tg)⋅C. The KM values are all in the same range, which indicates efficient recognition of C⋅C mismatches in DNA. Fpg activity was also exhibited for the thymine (T)⋅T mismatch and for N4- and/or 5-methylated C opposite C or T, Fpg activity being enabled on a broad spectrum of DNA lesions and mismatches by the flexibility of the active site loop. We hypothesize that Fpg plays a role in resolving C⋅C in particular, but also other pyrimidine⋅pyrimidine mismatches, which increases survival at the cost of some mutagenesis.


2013 ◽  
Vol 288 (29) ◽  
pp. 20918-20926 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinchuan Hu ◽  
Jun-Hyuk Choi ◽  
Shobhan Gaddameedhi ◽  
Michael G. Kemp ◽  
Joyce T. Reardon ◽  
...  

Nucleotide excision repair is the sole mechanism for removing the major UV photoproducts from genomic DNA in human cells. In vitro with human cell-free extract or purified excision repair factors, the damage is removed from naked DNA or nucleosomes in the form of 24- to 32-nucleotide-long oligomers (nominal 30-mer) by dual incisions. Whether the DNA damage is removed from chromatin in vivo in a similar manner and what the fate of the excised oligomer was has not been known previously. Here, we demonstrate that dual incisions occur in vivo identical to the in vitro reaction. Further, we show that transcription-coupled repair, which operates in the absence of the XPC protein, also generates the nominal 30-mer in UV-irradiated XP-C mutant cells. Finally, we report that the excised 30-mer is released from the chromatin in complex with the repair factors TFIIH and XPG. Taken together, our results show the congruence of in vivo and in vitro data on nucleotide excision repair in humans.


2008 ◽  
Vol 28 (16) ◽  
pp. 5082-5092 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anwaar Ahmad ◽  
Andria Rasile Robinson ◽  
Anette Duensing ◽  
Ellen van Drunen ◽  
H. Berna Beverloo ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT ERCC1-XPF endonuclease is required for nucleotide excision repair (NER) of helix-distorting DNA lesions. However, mutations in ERCC1 or XPF in humans or mice cause a more severe phenotype than absence of NER, prompting a search for novel repair activities of the nuclease. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, orthologs of ERCC1-XPF (Rad10-Rad1) participate in the repair of double-strand breaks (DSBs). Rad10-Rad1 contributes to two error-prone DSB repair pathways: microhomology-mediated end joining (a Ku86-independent mechanism) and single-strand annealing. To determine if ERCC1-XPF participates in DSB repair in mammals, mutant cells and mice were screened for sensitivity to gamma irradiation. ERCC1-XPF-deficient fibroblasts were hypersensitive to gamma irradiation, and γH2AX foci, a marker of DSBs, persisted in irradiated mutant cells, consistent with a defect in DSB repair. Mutant mice were also hypersensitive to irradiation, establishing an essential role for ERCC1-XPF in protecting against DSBs in vivo. Mice defective in both ERCC1-XPF and Ku86 were not viable. However, Ercc1 −/− Ku86 −/− fibroblasts were hypersensitive to gamma irradiation compared to single mutants and accumulated significantly greater chromosomal aberrations. Finally, in vitro repair of DSBs with 3′ overhangs led to large deletions in the absence of ERCC1-XPF. These data support the conclusion that, as in yeast, ERCC1-XPF facilitates DSB repair via an end-joining mechanism that is Ku86 independent.


2005 ◽  
Vol 73 (11) ◽  
pp. 7597-7601 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Wroblewska-Seniuk ◽  
R. Selvarangan ◽  
A. Hart ◽  
R. Pladzyk ◽  
P. Goluszko ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli bearing adhesins of the Dr/Afa family frequently causes urogenital infections during pregnancy in humans and has been associated with mortality in pregnant rats. Two components of the adhesin, Dra/AfaE and Dra/AfaD, considered virulence factors, are responsible for bacterial binding and internalization. We hypothesize that gestational mortality caused by Dr/Afa+ E. coli is mediated by one of these two proteins, Dra/AfaE or Dra/AfaD. In this study, using afaE and/or afaD mutants, we investigated the role of the afaE and afaD genes in the mortality of pregnant rats from intrauterine infection. Sprague-Dawley rats, on the 17th day of pregnancy, were infected with the E. coli afaE + afaD and afaE afaD + mutants. The clinical E. coli strain (afaE + afaD +) and the afaE afaD double mutant were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. The mortality rate was evaluated 24 h after infection. The highest maternal mortality was observed in the group infected with the afaE + afaD + strain, followed by the group infected with the afaE + afaD strain. The mortality was dose dependent. The afaE afaD double mutant did not cause maternal mortality, even with the highest infection dose. The in vivo studies corresponded with the invasion assay, where the afaE + strains were the most invasive (afaE + afaD strain > afaE + afaD + strain), while the afaE mutant strains (afaE afaD + and afaE afaD strains) seemed to be noninvasive. This study shows for the first time that the afaE gene coding for the AfaE subunit of Dr/Afa adhesin is involved in the lethal outcome of gestational infection in rats. This lethal effect associated with AfaE correlates with the invasiveness of afaE + E. coli strains in vitro.


Genetics ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
pp. 1175-1186
Author(s):  
W Y Feng ◽  
J B Hays

Abstract During infection of homoimmune Escherichia coli lysogens ("repressed infections"), undamaged nonreplicating lambda phage DNA circles undergo very little recombination. Prior UV irradiation of phages dramatically elevates recombinant frequencies, even in bacteria deficient in UvrABC-mediated excision repair. We previously reported that 80-90% of this UvrABC-independent recombination required MutHLS function and unmethylated d(GATC) sites, two hallmarks of methyl-directed mismatch repair. We now find that deficiencies in other mismatch-repair activities--UvrD helicase, exonuclease I, exonuclease VII, RecJ exonuclease--drastically reduce recombination. These effects of exonuclease deficiencies on recombination are greater than previously observed effects on mispair-provoked excision in vitro. This suggests that the exonucleases also play other roles in generation and processing of recombinagenic DNA structures. Even though dsDNA breaks are thought to be highly recombinagenic, 60% of intracellular UV-irradiated phage DNA extracted from bacteria in which recombination is low--UvrD-, ExoI-, ExoVII-, or Rec(J-)--displays (near-)blunt-ended dsDNA ends (RecBCD-sensitive when deproteinized). In contrast, only bacteria showing high recombination (Mut+ UvrD+ Exo+) generate single-stranded regions in nonreplicating UV-irradiated DNA. Both recF and recB recC mutations strikingly reduce recombination (almost as much as a recF recB recC triple mutation), suggesting critical requirements for both RecF and RecBCD activity. The mismatch repair system may thus process UV-irradiated DNA so as to initiate more than one recombination pathway.


1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 4767-4776
Author(s):  
G B Sancar ◽  
F W Smith

The PHR1 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes a DNA photolyase that catalyzes the light-dependent repair of pyrimidine dimers. In the absence of photoreactivating light, this enzyme binds to pyrimidine dimers but is unable to repair them. We have assessed the effect of bound photolyase on the dark survival of yeast cells carrying mutations in genes that eliminate either nucleotide excision repair (RAD2) or mutagenic repair (RAD18). We found that a functional PHR1 gene enhanced dark survival in a rad18 background but failed to do so in a rad2 or rad2 rad18 background and therefore conclude that photolyase stimulates specifically nucleotide excision repair of dimers in S. cerevisiae. This effect is similar to the effect of Escherichia coli photolyase on excision repair in the bacterium. However, despite the functional and structural similarities between yeast photolyase and the E. coli enzyme and complementation of the photoreactivation deficiency of E. coli phr mutants by PHR1, yeast photolyase failed to enhance excision repair in the bacterium. Instead, Phr1 was found to be a potent inhibitor of dark repair in recA strains but had no effect in uvrA strains. The results of in vitro experiments indicate that inhibition of nucleotide excision repair results from competition between yeast photolyase and ABC excision nuclease for binding at pyrimidine dimers. In addition, the A and B subunits of the excision nuclease, when allowed to bind to dimers before photolyase, suppressed photoreactivation by Phr1. We propose that enhancement of nucleotide excision repair by photolyases is a general phenomenon and that photolyase should be considered an accessory protein in this pathway.


2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (11) ◽  
pp. 3609-3613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana P. Lancaster ◽  
David F. Friedman ◽  
Kathleen Chiotos ◽  
Kaede V. Sullivan

We used anin vitrotechnique to investigate blood volumes required to detect bacteremia and fungemia with low concentrations of an organism. At 1 to 10 CFU/ml,Escherichia coli,Staphylococcus epidermidis,Staphylococcus aureus,Listeria monocytogenes,Candida albicans, andCandida parapsilosisisolates were detected in volumes as low as 0.5 ml. Detection ofStreptococcus agalactiaeand detection of bacteremia at <1 CFU/ml were unreliable.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document