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Weigle reactivation of diploid M13 phage

J E LeClerc, N L Istock

    Molecular & General Genetics : MGG
    |January 1, 1984
    PubMed

    Insights

    Ultraviolet (UV)-irradiated Escherichia coli cells show limited ability to reactivate UV-damaged single-stranded DNA phages. This study indicates that phage genome recombination is not involved in the W-reactivation process.

    Area of Science:

    • Microbiology
    • Molecular Biology
    • Genetics

    Background:

    • Escherichia coli (E. coli) possesses DNA repair mechanisms, including the SOS response.
    • Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria and can be used as model systems to study DNA repair.
    • W-reactivation is a process where bacterial cells can repair UV-damaged phage DNA.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate the limited capacity of UV-irradiated E. coli to perform W-reactivation on UV-damaged single-stranded DNA phages (fd and M13).
    • To elucidate the mechanism underlying W-reactivation of these phages, specifically examining the role of recombination.

    Main Methods:

    • UV irradiation of E. coli cells and single-stranded DNA phages (fd and M13).
    • Assaying the infectivity of UV-irradiated phages after incubation with UV-irradiated E. coli to measure W-reactivation.
    • Comparing W-reactivation efficiency using haploid and diploid phage particles.

    Main Results:

    • UV-irradiated E. coli cells exhibited limited W-reactivation of UV-irradiated fd and M13 phages.
    • The induction kinetics for W-reactivation of UV-irradiated fd phage differed from other SOS functions.
    • W-reactivation of UV-irradiated M13 phage using diploid particles showed no difference compared to haploid particles.

    Conclusions:

    • The mechanism of W-reactivation for single-stranded DNA phages does not rely on recombination between partially replicated genomes.
    • The observed differences in induction kinetics suggest a specific pathway for phage W-reactivation within the SOS response.

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