The genetic characterization of lexB32, lexB33 and lexB35 mutations of Escherichia coli: location and complementation pattern for UV resistance.

Mutants of LexB have been isolated by their resistance to lysogenic induction by thymine starvation, their resistance to thymine starvation and on the basis of their UV sensitivity. Here, three mutations identified originally in strains lacking mutagenic response to UV-irradiation, unmB (Kato and Shinoura, 1977), have been further characterized, mapped by P1-mediated transduction with srl into the recA-tif-zab-lexB cluster at the lexB position and analysed for complementation with various lexB and recA mutations. From the results it was concluded that unmB mutations are identical to lexB mutations; consequently these mutations have been termed lexB32, lexB33 and lexB35. The mutations lexB33 and lexB35 do not complement any of the other lexB mutations and define therefore a new complementation type. The lexB32 mutation, which like the lexB34 mutation, results in moderate UV sensitivity has a complementation pattern similar to that of lexB34. However, unlike lexB34 the lexB32 behaves like a leaky mutation. The results are discussed in relation to the recA gene product and its control.