Effect of recF, recJ, recN, recO and ruv mutations on ultraviolet survival and genetic recombination in a recD strain of Escherichia coli K12.

DNA repair and recombination were investigated in a recD mutant of Escherichia coli which lacked the nuclease activity of the RecBCD enzyme. The resistance of this mutant to ultraviolet (UV) light was shown to be a function of recJ. A recD recJ double mutant was found to be more sensitive to UV radiation than a recB mutant, whereas recD and recJ single mutants were resistant. Recombination in conjugational crosses with Hfr donors was also reduced in recD recJ strains, but the effect was modest in comparison with the sensitivity to UV. Within certain limits, mutations in recF, recN, recO, lexA and ruv did not affect sensitivity to UV and recombination in a recD mutant any more than in a recD+ strain. The possibility that recD and recJ provide overlapping activities, either of which can promote DNA repair and recombination in the absence of the other, is discussed.