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Auxotroph Accumulation in Deoxyribonucleic Acid Polymeraseless Strains of Escherichia coli K-12¹

^a Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06268

ABSTRACT

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.

¹ Contribution No. 191 from the Institute of Cellular Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Conn. 06268.