Lethal and mutation frequency responses of Spiroplasma citri cells to UV irradiation

The effect of UV irradiation on viability and mutant colony frequency in the Mollicute Spiroplasma citri was investigated at 3 phases of growth. The first UV-induced mutants obtained in Mollicutes were selected: xylitol-resistant (XylR) and arsenic acid-resistant mutants (ArsR). Lethal and mutation frequency responses of S. citri cells increase with the age of the cell cultures. In all UV-irradiated populations, light exposure slightly increases the number of survivors and decreases the induced mutation frequency; liquid holding conditions increase the number of both survivors and mutant colonies. This suggests that, in UV-irradiated S. citri cells maintained under liquid holding conditions, there is no dark reactivation but induction of an error-prone repair system of the SOS type. In S. citri, the error-free light and dark repair systems are inefficient. Results allow the development of a method to select UV-induced mutations usable as markers in genetic studies of Spiroplasma cells.