Formaldehyde induced DNA-protein crosslinks in Escherichia Coli

Exposure of Escherichia coli to low doses of formaldehyde induces interstrand cross-links in the cellular DNA, at least 50% of which involve protein "bridges" between the DNA strands. The biological importance of these cross-links is suggested by both the high yield of formation and by the inability of some sensitive repair deficient mutants to completely remove cross-links and bound protein from the DNA during post treatment incubation.