Iminohydantoin Lesion Induced in DNA by Peracids and Other Epoxidizing Oxidants

The oxidation of guanine to 5-carboxamido-5-formamido-2-iminohydantoin (2-Ih) is shown to be a major transformation in the oxidation of the single-stranded DNA 5-mer d(TTGTT) by m-CPBA and DMDO as a model for peracid oxidants and in the oxidation of the 5-base pair duplex d[(TTGTT)·(AACAA)] with DMDO. 2-Ih has not been reported as an oxidative lesion at the level of single/double-stranded DNA or at the nucleoside/nucleotide level. The lesion is stable to DNA digestion and chromatographic purification suggesting that 2-Ih may be a stable biomarker in vivo. The oxidation products have been structurally characterized and the reaction mechanism probed by oxidation of the monomeric species dGuo, dGMP and dGTP. DMDO selectively oxidizes the guanine moiety of dGuo, dGMP and dGTP to 2-Ih, and both peracetic and m-chloroperbenzoic acids exhibit the same selectivity. The presence of the glycosidic bond results in the stereoselective induction of an asymmetric center at the spiro carbon to give a mixture of diastereomers, with each diastereomer in equilibrium with a minor conformer through rotation about the formamido C-N bond. Labeling studies with 18O2-m-CPBA and H218O to determine the source of the added oxygen atoms have established initial epoxidation of the guanine 4-5 bond with pyrimidine ring contraction by an acyl 1,2-migration of guanine carbonyl C6 to form a transient dehydrodeoxyspiroiminodihydantoin followed by hydrolytic ring opening of the imidazolone ring. Consistent with the proposed mechanism, no 8-oxoguanine was detected as a product of the oxidations of the oligonucleotides or monomeric species mediated by DMDO or the peracids. The 2-Ih base thus appears to be a pathway-specific lesion generated by peracids and possibly other epoxidizing agents and holds promise as a potential biomarker

Proofreading deficiency of Pol I increases the levels of spontaneous rpoB mutations in E. coli

The fidelity role of DNA polymerase I in chromosomal DNA replication in E. coli was investigated using the rpoB forward target. These experiments indicated that in a strain carrying a proofreading-exonuclease-defective form of Pol I (polAexo mutant) the frequency of rpoB mutations increased by about 2-fold, consistent with a model that the fidelity of DNA polymerase I is important in controlling the overall fidelity of chromosomal DNA replication. DNA sequencing of rpoB mutants revealed that the Pol I exonuclease deficiency lead to an increase in a variety of base-substitution mutations. A polAexo mutator effect was also observed in strains defective in DNA mismatch repair and carrying the dnaE915 antimutator allele. Overall, the data are consistent with a proposed role of Pol I in the faithful completion of Okazaki fragment gaps at the replication fork

A Novel Mutator of Escherichia coli Carrying a Defect in the dgt Gene, Encoding a dGTP Triphosphohydrolase▿

A novel mutator locus in Escherichia coli was identified from a collection of random transposon insertion mutants. Several mutators in this collection were found to have an insertion in the dgt gene, encoding a previously characterized dGTP triphosphohydrolase. The mutator activity of the dgt mutants displays an unusual specificity. Among the six possible base pair substitutions in a lacZ reversion system, the G·C→C·G transversion and A·T→G·C transition are strongly enhanced (10- to 50-fold), while a modest effect (two- to threefold) is also observed for the G·C→A·T transition. Interestingly, a two- to threefold reduction in mutant frequency (antimutator effect) is observed for the G·C→T·A transversion. In the absence of DNA mismatch repair (mutL) some of these effects are reduced or abolished, while other effects remain unchanged. Analysis of these effects, combined with the DNA sequence contexts in which the reversions take place, suggests that alterations of the dGTP pools as well as alterations in the level of some modified dNTP derivatives could affect the fidelity of in vivo DNA replication and, hence, account for the overall mutator effects

The Bacteriophage P1 hot Gene Product Can Substitute for the Escherichia coli DNA Polymerase III θ Subunit

The θ subunit (holE gene product) of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase (Pol) III holoenzyme is a tightly bound component of the polymerase core. Within the core (α-ɛ-θ), the α and ɛ subunits carry the DNA polymerase and 3′ proofreading functions, respectively, while the precise function of θ is unclear. holE homologs are present in genomes of other enterobacteriae, suggestive of a conserved function. Putative homologs have also been found in the genomes of bacteriophage P1 and of certain conjugative plasmids. The presence of these homologs is of interest, because these genomes are fully dependent on the host replication machinery and contribute few, if any, replication factors themselves. To study the role of these θ homologs, we have constructed an E. coli strain in which holE is replaced by the P1 homolog, hot. We show that hot is capable of substituting for holE when it is assayed for its antimutagenic action on the proofreading-impaired dnaQ49 mutator, which carries a temperature-sensitive ɛ subunit. The ability of hot to substitute for holE was also observed with other, although not all, dnaQ mutator alleles tested. The data suggest that the P1 hot gene product can substitute for the θ subunit and is likely incorporated in the Pol III complex. We also show that overexpression of either θ or Hot further suppresses the dnaQ49 mutator phenotype. This suggests that the complexing of dnaQ49-ɛ with θ is rate limiting for its ability to proofread DNA replication errors. The possible role of hot for bacteriophage P1 is discussed

DNA replication fidelity in Escherichia coli: a multi-DNA polymerase affair

High accuracy (fidelity) of DNA replication is important for cells to preserve the genetic identity and to prevent the accumulation of deleterious mutations. The error rate during DNA replication is as low as 10�9 to 10�11 errors per base pair. How this low level is achieved is an issue of major interest. This review is concerned with the mechanisms underlying the fidelity of the chromosomal replication in the model system Escherichia coli by DNA polymerase III holoenzyme, with further emphasis on participation of the other, accessory DNA polymerases, of which E. coli contains four (Pols I, II, IV, and V). Detailed genetic analysis of mutation rates revealed that (1) Pol II has an important role as a back-up proofreader for Pol III, (2) Pols IV and V do not normally contribute significantly to replication fidelity, but can readily do so under conditions of elevated expression, (3) participation of Pols IV and V, in contrast to that of Pol II, is specific to the lagging strand, and (4) Pol I also makes a lagging-strand-specific fidelity contribution, limited, however, to the faithful filling of the Okazaki fragment gaps. The fidelity role of the Pol III �subunit is also reviewed

The θ Subunit of Escherichia coli DNA Polymerase III: a Role in Stabilizing the ɛ Proofreading Subunit

The function of the θ subunit of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase III holoenzyme is not well established. θ is a tightly bound component of the DNA polymerase III core, which contains the α subunit (polymerase), the ɛ subunit (3′→5′ exonuclease), and the θ subunit, in the linear order α-ɛ-θ. Previous studies have shown that the θ subunit is not essential, as strains carrying a deletion of the holE gene (which encodes θ) proved fully viable. No significant phenotypic effects of the holE deletion could be detected, as the strain displayed normal cell health, morphology, and mutation rates. On the other hand, in vitro experiments have indicated the efficiency of the 3′-exonuclease activity of ɛ to be modestly enhanced by the presence of θ. Here, we report a series of genetic experiments that suggest that θ has a stabilizing role for the ɛ proofreading subunit. The observations include (i) defined ΔholE mutator effects in mismatch-repair-defective mutL backgrounds, (ii) strong ΔholE mutator effects in certain proofreading-impaired dnaQ strains, and (iii) yeast two- and three-hybrid experiments demonstrating enhancement of α-ɛ interactions by the presence of θ. θ appears conserved among gram-negative organisms which have an exonuclease subunit that exists as a separate protein (i.e., not part of the polymerase polypeptide), and the presence of θ might be uniquely beneficial in those instances where the proofreading 3′-exonuclease is not part of the polymerase polypeptide