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Journal of Bacteriology, October 2000, p. 5706-5714, Vol. 182, No. 20
Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Leiden
Institute of Chemistry, Gorlaeus Laboratories, Leiden University,
2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
Received 2 June 2000/Accepted 24 July 2000
DNA polymerase I (PolI) functions both in nucleotide excision
repair (NER) and in the processing of Okazaki fragments that are
generated on the lagging strand during DNA replication.
Escherichia coli cells completely lacking the PolI enzyme
are viable as long as they are grown on minimal medium. Here we show
that viability is fully dependent on the presence of functional UvrA,
UvrB, and UvrD (helicase II) proteins but does not require UvrC. In
contrast,
0021-9193/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Role of the Escherichia coli Nucleotide
Excision Repair Proteins in DNA Replication
polA cells grow even better when the
uvrC gene has been deleted. Apparently UvrA, UvrB, and UvrD
are needed in a replication backup system that replaces the PolI
function, and UvrC interferes with this alternative replication
pathway. With specific mutants of UvrC we could show that the
inhibitory effect of this protein is related to its catalytic activity
that on damaged DNA is responsible for the 3' incision reaction.
Specific mutants of UvrA and UvrB were also studied for their capacity
to support the PolI-independent replication. Deletion of the
UvrC-binding domain of UvrB resulted in a phenotype similar to that
caused by deletion of the uvrC gene, showing that the
inhibitory incision activity of UvrC is mediated via binding to UvrB. A
mutation in the N-terminal zinc finger domain of UvrA does not affect
NER in vivo or in vitro. The same mutation, however, does give
inviability in combination with the
polA mutation.
Apparently the N-terminal zinc-binding domain of UvrA has specifically
evolved for a function outside DNA repair. A model for the function of
the UvrA, UvrB, and UvrD proteins in the alternative replication
pathway is discussed.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratory of
Molecular Genetics, Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9502, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands. Phone: (31) 715274773. Fax: (31)715274537 E-mail:
N.Goosen{at}chem.leidenuniv.nl.
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