[Role of DNA-membrane attachment in repair of radiation damage in Micrococcus radiodurans].

The unirradiated bacterial DNA assciated with the membrane is liberated into the cytoplasm after breakage of either a single or a double strand, resulting from X-ray action. During the reincubation period in growth-medium, the DNA is reassociated with the membrane. This phenomenon is very rapid and occurs without increasing the molecular weight of DNA. The study of DNA-membrane complexes shows that the size of the DNA-associated membranous fragment differs according to the lysing technique employed, appearing as a change in the density of the complex. Chloramphenicol decreases reassociation, and iodoacetamide, a radiosensititzing agent, inhibits it completely.