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Repair of Thermally Induced DNA Breakage in Escherichia coli

Nature New Biology volume 237, pages 76–79 (1972)Cite this article

Abstract

BACTERIA grown at above optimal temperatures progressively lose viability1,2. The degree of sensitivity is a genetic trait, correlated with sensitivity to ionizing radiation in E. coli, and is characterized by single-strand DNA breaks3. The loss of viability is partly reversible by keeping the cells in buffer at a lower temperature4. Rosenberg et al.5 found a numerical correlation between the thermodynamic parameters of protein denaturation and observed death rates of various organisms, and suggested that protein denaturation was a likely cause of cell death. We show here that strand breakage and the repair of this breakage parallel the observed changes in viability during thermal inactivation in E. coli.s

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Author notes

  1. ELIZABETH WOODCOCK: Also at School of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales 2113.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CSIRO Division of Animal Genetics, PO Box 90, Epping, New South Wales, 2121

    ELIZABETH WOODCOCK & G. W. GRIGG

Authors
  1. ELIZABETH WOODCOCK
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  2. G. W. GRIGG
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WOODCOCK, E., GRIGG, G. Repair of Thermally Induced DNA Breakage in Escherichia coli. Nature New Biology 237, 76–79 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/newbio237076a0

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