281
J . gen. Microbial. (1963), 30, 281-287
Printed in Great Britain
Dose-Mutation Relationships in Ultraviolet -Induced
Reversion from Auxotrophy in Escherichia coli
BY RUTH F. HILL
Radiological Research Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Columbia University,
New York, U.S.A.
(Received 1 June 1962)
SUMMARY
Curves for the absolute yield of revertants as a function of ultraviolet
(uv) radiation dose were obtained after post-irradiation incubation in saline
and after exposure to reactivating light. The curves exhibited plateau
regions and final slopes which were equal to the slopes of the survival
curves for the auxotrophic Escherichia coli parent. These features may be
due to a saturation of the mutagenic effect at low doses. This saturation
would be the result of ( a ) heterogeneity in the unirradiated population
with respect to the amount of protein and RNA synthesis which can occur
before DNA replicates in the irradiated organisms, combined with
(b) limitation of the observable yield by the selection method. The ob-
servable yield would be derived from the fraction of the population most
resistant to the lethal effect of radiation.
INTRODUCTION
The mechanism by which ultraviolet ( u.v.) radiation produces mutations to
prototrophy in amino acid-requiring strains of bacteria has been the subject of
many recent investigations (Witkin, 1958, 1961 ; Lieb, 1960; Weatherwax & Land-
man, 1960; Doudney & Haas, 1958, 1960a, b; Haas & Doudney, 1959; Doudney,
1961). Briefly, u.v.-rad