Escherichia coli gene induction by alkylation treatment.

Searches for alkylation-inducible (aid) genes of Escherichia coli have been conducted by screening random fusions of the Mu-dl(ApR lac) phage for fusions showing increased beta-galactosidase activity after treatment with methylating agents, but not after treatments with UV-irradiation. In this report we describe gene fusions that are specifically induced by alkylation treatments. Nine new mutants are described, and their properties are compared with the five mutants described previously. The total of 14 fusion mutants map at five distinct genetic loci. They can be further subdivided on the basis of their induction by methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) and N-methyl-N' -nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG). alkA, aidB and aidD are induced by both agents and appear to be regulated by ada. Neither aidC nor aidI is regulated by ada. Moreover, since aidC is induced only by MNNG and aidI is induced only by MMS, these two genes are likely to be individually regulated. Thus, there appear to be at least three different regulatory mechanisms controlling aid genes.