Proximal and distal effects of sequence context on ultraviolet mutational hotspots in a shuttle vector replicated in xeroderma cells.

Hotspots are a standard feature of mutational spectra induced by mutagens in a variety of marker genes. While it is generally believed that sequence context exerts an important influence on hotspot location, direct experimental evidence is quite limited. We have studied ultraviolet mutagenesis in a suppressor tRNA marker gene (supF) carried in a mammalian shuttle vector and replicated in Xeroderma pigmentosum cells in culture. We have now constructed a small family of functional variant suppressor tRNA marker gene which differ from one another by one or two nucleotide changes. UV mutational spectra were generated for each variant gene. We found that the change of a dipyrimidine from 5' TC to 5' CC eliminated a strong mutational hotspot. In addition a single base change in the supF gene was accompanied by the appearance of a new hotspot eight bases away. Finally, another single base change suppressed a major hotspot 48 bases away. Polymerase stop assays on the UV modified marker genes were used to measure the frequency and distribution of photoproducts. The differences in hotspot patterns could not be explained by differences in modification patterns. These results indicate that a change in sequence context can directly influence the probability of mutagenesis at specific sites.