Both caffeine-induced lethality and the negative liquid holding effect, in UV- or γ-irradiated wild-type Schizosaccharomyces pombe, are consequences of interference with a recombinational repair process

UV-or γ-irradiated G2 phase cells of rad+ Schizosac charonmyces pombe show increased inactivation if incubated postirradiation, in liquid growth medium containing caffeine, before being plated on normal agar medium. The following however, do not show such caffeine-induced lethality: G1 phase rad+ cells; ascospores of a rad+ strain; either G2 or G1 phase cells of the recombination-deficient rad1 strain; unirradiated rad+ cells. Of the above, only the G2 phase rad+ cells possess, at the time of radiation exposure, the capability for recombination. Similarly, the negative liquid holding effect is manifested only in G2 phase rad+ cells. Both the negative liquid holding effect and caffeine-induced lethality therefore are seen only in cells which fulfill all of the following conditions: (a) they must be genetically recombination-proficient; (b) they must possess at the time of irradiation the necessary two DNA copies with which to perform recombinational repair (for a haploid cell, this means they must be in G2 phase); (c) their DNA must be damaged, such as by UV or γ-ray exposure, thus requiring that recombinational repair capability be exercised in order to maintain viability; and (d) they must be incubated under conditions that fail to support the normal progress of recombinational repair. (orig./AJ)