Defective excision repair of pyrimidine dimers in the ultraviolet-sensitive Escherichia coli ras- mutant.

The ras(-) mutant of Escherichia coli K-12 is sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) light but only slightly sensitive to X-irradiation (1.5-fold increase). Other phenotypic properties include normal recombination ability and normal host cell reactivation ability but an abnormally high frequency of UV-induced mutation. The response of the ras(-) mutant to UV has been studied biochemically. After low doses of UV, the ras(-) mutant degraded excessive amounts of deoxyribonucleic acid, and long delays in resumption of deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis occurred. Pyrimidine dimers were excised at the normal rate. Although the mutant had the capability of initiating repair replication, the process was not completed after the high UV dose required to allow detection of repair replication. The ras(-) mutant, after low UV doses, left three to four times as many single-strand breaks not rejoined as did the wild-type strain.