The sir locus of Escherichia coli: a gene involved in SOS-independent repair of mitomycin C-induced DNA damage.

A Mud1 (lac Apr) insertion has been isolated in a delta (lac)recA+ lexA3(Ind-)rpoB87 gyrA87 mutant of Escherichia coli resulting in a decrease in mitomycin C tolerance and an increase in post-mitomycin C DNA degradation. The mitomycin C sensitivity of the insertion mutant is not further increased by substituting either the rpoB87 or the gyrA mutation by the respective wild-type alleles. However, when both rpoB87 and gyrA87 mutations are replaced by rpoB+ and gyrA+ the strain becomes hypersensitive to mitomycin C. Inactivation of recA in the insertion mutant has no effect on its mitomycin C sensitivity provided both rpoB87 and gyrA87 are present. When either or both of the mutations is/are replaced by the wild-type allele inactivation of recA renders the strain hypersensitive to mitomycin C. The locus of Mud1 (lac Apr) insertion, designated sir (SOS-independent repair), has been mapped between 57 and 61 min on the E. coli linkage map. Expression of the sir gene seems to be constitutive and not enhanced by mitomycin C. These results are discussed in relation to the SOS-independent repair of mitomycin C-induced DNA damage reported earlier.