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. 1983 Aug;155(2):664–680. doi: 10.1128/jb.155.2.664-680.1983

Escherichia coli RecBC pseudorevertants lacking chi recombinational hotspot activity.

D W Schultz, A F Taylor, G R Smith
PMCID: PMC217737  PMID: 6348024

Abstract

Pseudorevertants of an Escherichia coli exonuclease V (RecBC enzyme)-negative mutant have been isolated after ethyl methane sulfonate mutagenesis of a recC73 (presumed missense) mutant. The remedial mutations in each of the four pseudorevertants studied in detail map and complement as recC mutations. By several criteria, such as recombination proficiency, support of phage growth, RecBC nuclease activity, and cell viability, the pseudorevertants appear to have regained partially or completely various aspects of RecBC activity. However, chi recombinational hotspots, which stimulate exclusively the RecBC pathway of recombination, have no detectable activity in lambda vegetative crosses in the pseudorevertants. The properties of these mutants, in which the RecBC pathway of recombination is active yet in which chi is not active, are consistent with the hypothesis that wild-type RecBC enzyme directly interacts with chi sites; alternatively, the mutants may block or bypass the productive interaction of another recombinational enzyme with chi.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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