Inducible postreplication repair is responsible for minimal medium recovery in UV-irradiated Escherichia coli K-12

Ultraviolet (UV)-irradiated Escherichia coli K-12 uvrA cells showed higher survival if plated on minimal growth medium rather than on rich growth medium, i.e., they showed minimal medium recovery (MMR). A 2-hour treatment of UV-irradiated cells with rifampicin inhibited the subsequent expression of MMR, and produced a large reduction in survival. A recently isolated new mutant (mmrAl) does not show MMR. The mmrA mutation protected UV-irradiated uvrA cells from the effect of rich growth medium on survival, but not from the effect of rifampicin on survival. DNA daughter-strand gap (DSG) repair in UV-irradiated (4 J/m2) uvrA cells was inhibited to the same degree whether rich growth medium was added immediately after irradiation or after 10 min of postirradiation incubation in minimal growth medium. However, chloramphenicol added immediately after irradiation greatly reduced this repair; there was less reduction if it was added 10 min after UV irradiation. These findings suggest that MMR is an inducible repair phenomenon, and that rich growth medium inhibits this repair process itself rather than its induction. (author)