Auxotroph accumulation in deoxyribonucleic acid polymeraseless strains of Escherichia coli K-12.
Spontaneous auxotrophs are found with high frequency in several strains of Escherichia coli K-12 deficient in Kornberg deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase. These include amino acid-, vitamin-, purine-, and pyrimidine-requiring strains. Although this was suggestive evidence that these strains might be mutators, reconstruction experiments demonstrate that auxotrophs possess a selective advantage over prototrophs in the same culture. Thus, despite the high frequency of auxotrophs in polymerase-deficient strains, it is not yet clear whether they have elevated mutation rates.
D000225:Adenine / Q000378:metabolism; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D003470:Culture Media; D004254:DNA Nucleotidyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D005827:Genetics, Microbial; D006147:Guanine / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation; D010205:Pantothenic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D014498:Uracil / Q000378:metabolism
D000596:Amino Acids; D003470:Culture Media; D010205:Pantothenic Acid; D014498:Uracil; D006147:Guanine; D004254:DNA Nucleotidyltransferases; D000225:Adenine