Ligase-deficient yeast cells exhibit defective DNA rejoining and enhanced gamma ray sensitivity.

Yeast cells deficient in DNA ligase were also deficient in their capacity to rejoin single-strand scissions in prelabeled nuclear DNA. After high-dose-rate gamma irradiation (10 and 25 krads), cdc9-9 mutant cells failed to rejoin single-strand scissions at the restrictive temperature of 37 degrees C. In contrast, parental (CDC9) cells (incubated with mutant cells both during and after irradiation) exhibited rapid medium-independent DNA rejoining after 10 min of post-irradiation incubation and slower rates of rejoining after longer incubation. Parental cells were also more resistant than mutant cells to killing by gamma irradiation. Approximately 2.5 +/- 0.07 and 5.7 +/- 0.6 single-strand breaks per 10(8) daltons were detected in DNAs from either CDC9 or cdc9-9 cells converted to spheroplasts immediately after 10 and 25 krads of irradiation, respectively. At the permissive temperature of 23 degrees C, the cdc9-9 cells contained 2 to 3 times the number of DNA single-strand breaks as parental cells after 10 min to 4 h of incubation after 10 krads of irradiation, and two- to eightfold more breaks after 10 min to 2.5 h of incubation after 25 krads of irradiation. Rejoining of single-strand scissions was faster in medium. After only 10 min in buffered growth medium and after 10 krads of irradiation, the number of DNA single-strand breaks was reduced to 0.32 +/- 0.3 (at 23 degrees C) or 0.21 +/- 0.05 (at 37 degrees C) per 10(8) daltons in parental cells, but remained at 2.1 +/- 0.06 (at 23 degrees C) or 2.3 +/- 0.07 (at 37 degrees C) per 10(8) daltons in mutant cells. After 10 or 25 krads of irradiation plus 1 h of incubation in medium at 37 degrees C, only DNA from CDC9 cells was rejoined to the size of DNA from unirradiated cells, whereas at 23 degrees C, DNAs in both strains were completely rejoined.