Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Enzymatic degradation of uracil-containing deoxyribonucleic acid. V. Survival of Escherichia coli and coliphages treated with sodium bisulfite

Journal Article · · J. Bacteriol.; (United States)
OSTI ID:6138519

A number of mutants of Escherichia coli defective in the ung gene (structural gene for uracil-deoxyribonucleic acid (ura-DNA) glycosylase) are shown to be abnormally sensitive to treatment with sodium bisulfite when compared with congenic ung/sup +/ strains. These results provide further evidence that sodium bisulfite causes the deamination of cytosine to uracil in DNA and that ura-DNA glycosylase is required for the repair of U-G mispairs. The effect of the chemical is apparently selective with respect to base damage; coliphages containing cytosine in their DNA are inactivated by treatment with sodium bisulfite, whereas those containing hydroxymethylcytosine are not. ura-DNA glycosylase and the major apurinic-apyrimidinic endonuclease of E. coli may function in the same repair pathway, since the extent of inactivation of a congenic set of strains which are ung xth (structural gene for the major apurinic-apyrimidinic endonuclease of E. coli) or ung xth/sup +/ is the same.

Research Organization:
Stanford Univ., CA
OSTI ID:
6138519
Journal Information:
J. Bacteriol.; (United States), Journal Name: J. Bacteriol.; (United States) Vol. 137:3; ISSN JOBAA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English