YtkD and MutT protect vegetative cells but not spores of Bacillus subtilis from oxidative stress

ytkD and mutT of Bacillus subtilis encode potential 8-oxo-dGTPases that can prevent the mutagenic effects of 8-oxo-dGTP. Loss of YtkD but not of MutT increased the spontaneous mutation frequency of growing cells. However, cells lacking both YtkD and MutT had a higher spontaneous mutation frequency than cells lacking YtkD. Loss of either YtkD or MutT sensitized growing cells to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and t-butylhydroperoxide (t-BHP), and the lack of both proteins sensitized growing cells to these agents even more. In contrast, B. subtilis spores lacking YtkD and MutT were not sensitized to H2O2, t-BHP, or heat. These results suggest (i) that YtkD and MutT play an antimutator role and protect growing cells of B. subtilis against oxidizing agents, and (ii) that neither YtkD nor MutT protects spores against potential DNA damage induced by oxidative stress or heat.