DNA repair in Bacillus subtilis. I. The presence of an inducible system.

Following UV irradiation of Bacillus subtilis there is a coordinate induction of: 1) a new protein, 2) a W-reactivation system, 3) a DNA modification system, and 4) prophages. These functions are induced following UV irradiation of repair proficient bacteria and mutants deficient in excision repair (UVR-1) and DNA polymerase I activity (polA5). However, they are not induced, or are impaired in their ability to be induced in bacteria containing the recA1 and the recG13 mutations. This inducible system is compared to the SOS system observed in E. coli.