title: Human deoxycytidine kinase as a conditional mutator in Escherichia coli.
abstract: The chemical diversification of DNA precursors was undertaken in Escherichia coil by expressing the human gene for deoxycytidine kinase, and supplying such recombinant strains with nucleoside analogues bearing an altered base or sugar. Arabinocytidine and dideoxycytidine thus became highly toxic to E. coli in the sub-millimolar range. Deoxynucleosides bearing isoadenine (2-aminopurine) and isoguanine (2-hydroxy-6-aminopurine) showed a high mutagenic potency towards the recombinant strains, to an extent comparable to that of the most efficient mutator alleles (dnaQ). These findings open the way to the propagation of chemically remodelled nucleic acids and to the controlled hypermutagenesis of plasmids in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Unité de biochimie cellulaire, CNRS Ura 1129, Institut Pasteur, Paris.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bouzon
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marlière
mesh_terms: D015075:2-Aminopurine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000963:Antimetabolites / Q000494:pharmacology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis; D003842:Deoxycytidine Kinase / Q000235:genetics*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000963:Antimetabolites; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D015075:2-Aminopurine; D003842:Deoxycytidine Kinase