[Effect of formaldehyde and its aminomethylol derivatives on E. coli strains with various defects of the DNA repair systems].

It was shown that aminomethylol compounds formed during reaction of formaldehyde with amino acids and formaldehyde as well exert a pronounced lethal action on E. coli strains with various defects of the DNA repair systems. The correlation between the extent of the DNA depurination caused by in vitro action of diverse aminomethylol derivatives and the inactivation of bacteria by these derivatives is revealed. The data obtained suggest that the inactivating effect of formaldehyde and its aminomethylol derivatives seems likely to be due to the formation of depurinized groups in bacterial DNA rather than to dimerization of purine bases.