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Effect of 6-(p-Hydroxyphenyl)-azouracil on B. subtilis DNA Polymerases

Abstract

DNA replication in Bacillus subtilis1,2 and other Gram-positive organisms3 is specifically inhibited by 6-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-azouracil (HPUra). The site of action of this compound has not so far been identified, but important progress was made by Brown et al.4, who studied the effect of HPUra on DNA synthesis in B. subtilis cells made permeable to externally supplied deoxynucleoside triphosphates by treatment with toluene. In this in vitro system, HPUra had no inhibitory effect when added alone, but in the presence of NADPH or dithiothreitol (DTT) the drug was reduced to a colourless form which specifically inhibited DNA synthesis.

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BAZILL, G., GROSS, J. Effect of 6-(p-Hydroxyphenyl)-azouracil on B. subtilis DNA Polymerases. Nature New Biology 240, 82–83 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/newbio240082a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/newbio240082a0

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