title: Enzymatic degradation of uracil-containing deoxyribonucleic acid. V. Survival of Escherichia coli and coliphages treated with sodium bisulfite.
abstract: A number of mutants of Escherichia coli defective in the ung gene (structural gene for uracil-deoxyribonucleic acid [ura-DNA] glycosylase) are shown to be abnormally sensitive to treatment with sodium bisulfite when compared with congenic ung+ strains. These results provide further evidence that sodium bisulfite causes the deamination of cytosine to uracil in DNA and that ura-DNA glycosylase is required for the repair of U-G mispairs. The effect of the chemical is apparently selective with respect to base damage; coliphages containing cytosine in their DNA are inactivated by treatment with sodium bisulfite, whereas those containing hydroxymethylcytosine are not. ura-DNA glycosylase and the major apurinic-apyrimidinic endonuclease of E. coli may function in the same repair pathway, since the extent of inactivation of a congenic set of strains which are ung xth (structural gene for the major apurinic-apyrimidinic endonuclease of E. coli) or ung xth+ is the same.
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D003090:Coliphages / Q000187:drug effects*; D004260:DNA Repair; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism*; D003856:Deoxyuracil Nucleotides / Q000378:metabolism*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation; D009699:N-Glycosyl Hydrolases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013447:Sulfites / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D003856:Deoxyuracil Nucleotides; D013447:Sulfites; D009699:N-Glycosyl Hydrolases