Four proteins synthesized in response to deoxyribonucleic acid damage in Micrococcus radiodurans

Four proteins, alpha beta, gamma, and delta, preferentially synthesized in ultraviolet light-treated cells of Micrococcus radiodurans, were characterized in terms of their molecular weights and isoelectric points. Within the sublethal-dose range, the differential rate of synthesis for these proteins increased linearly with the inducing UV dose. The degree of induction reached 100-fold, and the most abundant protein beta, amounted to approximately 2% of the total newly synthesized protein after irradiation. Damage caused by ionizing radiation or by treatment with mitomycin C also provoked the synthesis of the four proteins. The proportions between the individual proteins, however, varied strikingly with the damaging agent. In contrast to treatments which introduced damage in the cellular deoxyribonucleic acid, the mere arrest of deoxyribonucleic acid replication, caused by nalidixic acid or by starvation for thymine, failed to elicit the synthesis of either protein. Repair of deoxyribonucleic acid damage requires that a number of versatile and efficient processes by employed. It is proposed that the induced proteins participate in deoxyribonucleic acid repair in M. radiodurans. Mechanisms are discussed which would allow a differentiated cellular response to damages of sufficiently distinctive nature.