Different UmuC requirements for generation of different kinds of UV-induced mutations in Escherichia coli

An Escherichia coli strain bearing the dnaQ49 mutation, which results in a defective epsilon subunit of DNA polymerase III, and carrying the lexA71 mutation, which causes derepression of the SOS regulon, is totally unable to maintain high-copy-number plasmids containing the umuDC operon. The strain is also unable to maintain the pAN4 plasmid containing a partial deletion of the umuD gene but retaining the wild-type umuC gene. These results suggest that a high cellular level of UmuC is exceptionally harmful to the defective DNA polymerase III of the dnaQ49 mutant. We have used this finding as a basis for selection of new plasmid umuC mutants. The properties of two such mutants, bearing the umuC61 or umuC95 mutation, are described in detail. In the umuC122::Tn5 strain harbouring the mutant plasmids, UV-induced mutagenesis is severely decreased compared to that observed with the parental umuDC+ plasmid. Interestingly, while the frequency of UV-induced GC-->AT transitions is greatly reduced, the frequency of AT-->TA transversions is not affected. Both mutant plasmids bear frameshift mutations within the same run of seven A residues present in umuC+; in umuC61 the run is shortened to six A whereas in umuC95 is lengthened to eight A. We have found in both umuC61 and umuC95 that translation is partially restored to the proper reading frame. We propose that under conditions of limiting amounts of UmuC, the protein preferentially facilitates processing of only some kinds of UV-induced lesions.