Interactions among genes controlling sensitivity to radiation (RAD) and to alkylation by nitrogen mustard (SNM) in yeast.

Three haploid yeast mutants (snm) sensitive or thermoconditionally sensitive to the DNA cross-linking agent nitrogen mustard (HN2) were crossed with four rad strains representing mutations in the three pathways of DNA dark repair. The resulting haploid double and triple mutant strains were tested for their sensitivity to UV, HN2 and HN1. From the observed epistatic or synergistic interactions of the combinations of mutant alleles we could derive the relation of the SNM1 and SNM2 genes to the postulated repair pathways. Alleles snm1-1 and snml-2 (ts) were found epistatic to genes of the rad3 group, whereas snm2-1 (ts) was epistatic to rad6. The snm1 and snm2 mutant alleles interacted synergistically. From these data it is concluded that the SNM1 gene product plays a cross-link specific role in excision repair while the SNM2 gene product may be involved in a system of error-prone repair.