Influence of chromosome integrity on Escherichia coli cell division

The antitumor agent cis-platinum(II)diamminodichloride (PDD) caused wild-type and recA+ deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) repair-deficient mutant cells of Escherichia coli K-12 to grow as long, multinucleated filaments. At 5 micrograms/ml, the times required for reduction of viability to 37% for wild-type, polA, recB,C, uvrA, and recA organisms were > 200, 200, 120, 25, and 5 min, respectively. Only recA cells exhibited @reckless" degradation of DNA at this concentration of PDD. As shown by sedimentation in alkaline sucrose gradients, generation of single-strand breaks in DNA of the remaining organisms was a major consequence of growth in PDD. Upon incubation in fresh medium after removal of the compound and storage for 4 h at 4 degrees C, a respective lag of 3, 4, 6, and 9 h occurred before filaments of wild-type, polA, recB,C, and uvrA cells commenced cell division. Maintenance at 4 degrees C, which evidently delayed postshift initiation of chromosome replication, was only essential for fragmentation of uvrA filaments. In all cases, these periods of division delay corresponded to those required for restoration of normal chromosomal molecular weight as determined in alkaline sucrose gradients.