DNA turnover and strand breaks in Escherichia coli

The extent of DNA turnover has been measured in a dnaB mutant of Escherichia coli, temperature sensitive for semiconservative DNA replication. At the nonpermissive temperature about 0.02% of the deoxynucleotides in DNA are exchanged per generation period. This turnover rate is markedly depressed in the presence of rifampicin. During thymine starvation strand breaks accumulate in the DNA of E. coli strains that are susceptible to thymineless death. Rifampicin suppresses the appearance of these breaks, consistent with our hypothesis that transcription may be accompanied by repairable single-strand breaks in DNA. DNA turnover is enhanced severalfold in strands containing 5-bromodeoxy-uridine in place of thymidine, possible because the analog (or the deoxyuridine, following debromination) is sometimes recognized and excised.