UV-inducible DNA repair in Acinetobacter calcoaceticus.

Bacterial mutation frequency after UV irradiation and phage mutation frequency under conditions of W-reactivation were determined in A. calcoaceticus. With the exception of streptomycin resistance, there was no increase in the frequency of the assayed markers above the background level. The increased survival of phage during W-reactivation was not followed by an increase in the frequency of mutation from turbid to clear plaque formers among phage survivors. The findings suggested that the UV-inducible repair pathway in A. calcoaceticus was error free. Post-irradiation incubation of UV-treated culture before phage infection resulted in a further increase of W-reactivation. As chloramphenicol inhibited this response, it was concluded that de novo protein synthesis was involved in the UV-inducible repair pathway in A. calcoaceticus.