Response of recA-dependent operons to different DNA damage signals.
The responses of three recA-dependent operons (recA, lambda, and phi 80), with three different repressors, to five DNA damage treatments were compared. Each operon shows a unique induction onset time constant over a wide dose range. However, the extent of response is variable within the same dose range. Individual Escherichia coli cells show a graded SOS response to different levels of DNA damage. Apparently phage repressors have evolved to discriminate between lethal and sublethal DNA damage to a host by a wide variety of agents. Multiple induction signals could account for the complex behavior of this system. For example, the absence of the recBC enzyme from a cell leads to complex changes in SOS induction onset times and extents.
D003090:Coliphages / Q000235:genetics; D004260:DNA Repair; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics*; D005804:Genes, Lethal; D007700:Kinetics; D009154:Mutation; D009876:Operon; D010957:Plasmids; D011938:Rec A Recombinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D013045:Species Specificity
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D011938:Rec A Recombinases