Mutations in Salmonella typhimurium and inactivation of Bacillus subtilis transforming DNA induced by phenylhydroxylamine derivatives.

Phenylhydroxylamine (PHA) and its derivatives such as monomethyl (2-Me, 3-Me, 4-Me) and dimethyl (2,3-diMe, 2,4-diMe, 2,5-diMe, 2,6-diMe, 3,4-diMe, 3,5-diMe) were tested for their mutagenicity and for their inducing ability to inactivate transforming DNA. All these compounds except PHA and 3,5-diMePHA were found to be mutagenic in Salmonella typhimurium TA100 even in the absence of S9 mix, and their mutagenic potency was in the order: 2,6-diMe- greater than 2,4-diMe- = 3,4-diMe- greater than 4-Me- greater than 2,3-diMe- = 2,5-diMe- greater than 2-Me- = 3-MePHA. Besides mutagenicities, all the PHA derivatives except 2,6-diMePHA caused severe reductions in the activity of Bacillus subtilis transforming DNA. To establish the structure-activity relationship, we examined the correlation between these activities and the stabilities of the PHA derivatives, and the results indicated that the more chemically unstable the PHA derivatives were, the more active they were with respect to the mutations and to the inactivation of the transforming DNA. The mutagenic activity of 2,6-diMePHA was the sole exception, because it was most stable, but its induced mutation frequency was highest. From these results, we suggest that all the PHA derivatives, except 2,6-diMePHA, cause DNA damage through the generation of active molecular species, such as nitrenium ions, without any enzymatic activation, while 2,6-diMePHA requires further metabolic activation by bacterial enzymes to stimulate mutagenesis.