The Mfd protein of Bacillus subtilis 168 is involved in both transcription-coupled DNA repair and DNA recombination.

Inactivation of Bacillus subtilis orf1177 in an otherwise Rec+ strain reduced genetic exchange and DNA repair. When the mutation was transferred into a set of recombination-deficient and repair-deficient strains, the DNA repair and recombination ability of the double or triple mutant strains was drastically reduced. B. subtilis Orf1177 protein shares substantial homology with the Escherichia coli Mdf, RecG and UvrB proteins. In vivo analysis of UV-induced mutations suggests that Orf1177 is necessary for strand-specific DNA repair, as is the case for the E. coli MFD protein. Therefore, orf1177 and Orf1177 were termed mfd gene and Mfd protein, respectively. The purified Mfd protein has a native molecular mass of 140 kDa (expected molecular mass 133 kDa). The Mfd protein is a sequence-independent DNA binding protein with weak ATPase activity. The Mfd protein was able to displace in vitro B. subtilis or E. coli RNA polymerase stalled at a lesion. Therefore, Mfd protein appears to target the transcribed strand for repair by recognizing a stalled RNA polymerase and dissociating it from the DNA. In addition, the strong recombination-deficient phenotype of mfd- rec- strains suggest that Mfd protein is involved in homologous DNA recombination.