title: den V gene of bacteriophage T4 codes for both pyrimidine dimer-DNA glycosylase and apyrimidinic endonuclease activities.
abstract: Recent studies have shown purified preparations of phage T4 UV DNA-incising activity (T4 UV endonuclease or endonuclease V of phage T4) contain a pyrimidine dimer-DNA glycosylase activity that catalyzes hydrolysis of the 5' glycosyl bond of dimerized pyrimidines in UV-irradiated DNA. Such enzyme preparations have also been shown to catalyze the hydrolysis of phosphodiester bonds in UV-irradiated DNA at a neutral pH, presumably reflecting the action of an apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease at the apyrimidinic sites created by the pyrimidine dimer-DNA glycosylase. In this study we found that preparations of T4 UV DNA-incising activity contained apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease activity that nicked depurinated form I simian virus 40 DNA. Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease activity was also found in extracts of Escherichia coli infected with T4 denV+ phage. Extracts of cells infected with T4 denV mutants contained significantly lower levels of apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease activity; these levels were no greater than the levels present in extracts of uninfected cells. Furthermore, the addition of DNA containing apurinic or apyrimidinic sites to reactions containing UV-irradiated DNA and T4 enzyme resulted in competition for pyrimidine dimer-DNA glycosylase activity against the UV-irradiated DNA. On the basis of these results, we concluded that apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease activity is encoded by the denV gene of phage T4, the same gene that codes for pyrimidine dimer-DNA glycosylase activity.
mesh_terms: D045647:DNA Glycosylases; D004260:DNA Repair; D043603:DNA-(Apurinic or Apyrimidinic Site) Lyase; D043224:Deoxyribonuclease (Pyrimidine Dimer); D043223:Deoxyribonuclease IV (Phage T4-Induced); D003851:Deoxyribonucleases / Q000235:genetics*; D004720:Endonucleases / Q000235:genetics*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D005796:Genes; D005814:Genes, Viral; D009699:N-Glycosyl Hydrolases / Q000235:genetics*; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D013604:T-Phages / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D003851:Deoxyribonucleases; D004720:Endonucleases; D043223:Deoxyribonuclease IV (Phage T4-Induced); C468972:endonuclease IV, E coli; D043224:Deoxyribonuclease (Pyrimidine Dimer); D045647:DNA Glycosylases; D009699:N-Glycosyl Hydrolases; D043603:DNA-(Apurinic or Apyrimidinic Site) Lyase