Response of Lactococcus (Streptococcus) lactis to N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine: absence of adaptive response

Pretreatment of cells of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis with low levels of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine does not reduce the cytotoxic and mutagenic effects caused by high concentration of this agent. This observation indicates that there is no efficient inducible error-free repair system for alkylation damage similar to the 'adaptive response' described in detail for Escherichia coli.