Characterization of ultraviolet light-induced ouabain-resistant mutations in Chinese hamster cells.

Ouabain-resistant mutations in Chinese hamster cells have been quantitatively characterized. The mutation frequencies were found to be induced curvilinearly with treatments of increasing doses of ultraviolet light (UV). For the range of UV doses tested (5--20 J/m(2)), the observed frequency, Y, as a function of UV dose X, follows a curvilinear function, Y = (-28 + 13.37 X--1.52X(2) + 0.08X(3)) . 10(-6). The frequencies of UV-induced mutations were directly correlated with cell survival, indicating a similar causal relationship between cell killing and mutation induction. Under the same experimental conditions, X-rays induced 6--thioguanine-, but not ouabain-, resistant mutations. UV-induced ouabain-resistant (ouar) mutants exhibit a selection disadvantage. Their phenotypic expressions are modifiable by various agents. Wild type and 16 ouar mutants were compared with respect to their sensitivity to ouabain inhibition of 86Rb uptake by whole cells. All the ouar mutants assayed are less sensitive to the drug than are wild-type cells. In the absence of ouabain, the Na+--K+--ATPase activities can be significantly higher or lower than that of the wild-type cells.