Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1966 Sep;92(3):558–564. doi: 10.1128/jb.92.3.558-564.1966

Effect of 9-β-d-Arabinofuranosyladenine on Polymer Synthesis in a Polyauxotrophic Strain of Escherichia coli

Hazel Barner Leung 1, Alice McGovern Doering 1, Seymour S Cohen 1
PMCID: PMC276289  PMID: 5332077

Abstract

Leung, Hazel Barner (University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia), Alice McGovern Doering, and Seymour S. Cohen. Effect of 9-β-d-arabinofuranosyladenine on polymer synthesis in a polyauxotrophic strain of Escherichia coli. J. Bacteriol. 92:558–564. 1966.—Adenine-requiring mutants have been obtained from Escherichia coli strain 15 TAU, which also needs thymine, arginine, and uracil for growth. Some of these are killed by 9-β-d-arabinofuranosyladenine (ara-A) in the absence of exogenous adenine; a particular mutant of this type, designated TAUAd, has been used in our studies. The lethality of ara-A, d-arabinosylhypoxanthine, and the 1-n-oxide of ara-A has been compared; ara-A is equally toxic in the presence or absence of thymine. Although the absence of uracil reduces ara-A toxicity, the lack of arginine almost eliminates lethality. It was found that ara-A completely inhibits deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis without markedly affecting ribonucleic acid (RNA) synthesis. Some inhibition of protein synthesis can be detected. However, the interpretation of these results is complicated because (i) exogenous adenine must be excluded, (ii) endogenous adenine is made available from RNA turnover, and (iii) ara-A is being rapidly converted to only slightly less toxic arabinosylhypoxanthine by the adenosine deaminase of E. coli. A suitable inhibitor for the bacterial deaminase has not yet been found.

Full text

PDF
558

Selected References

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

  1. BARNER H. D., COHEN S. S. The isolation and properties of amino acid requiring mutants of a thymineless bacterium. J Bacteriol. 1957 Sep;74(3):350–355. doi: 10.1128/jb.74.3.350-355.1957. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. CARDEILHAC P. T., COHEN S. S. SOME METABOLIC PROPERTIES OF NUCLEOTIDES OF 1-BETA-D-ARABINO-FURANOSYLCYTOSINE. Cancer Res. 1964 Oct;24:1595–1603. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. COHEN S. S., ARBOGAST R. Chemical studies in host-virus interactions; a comparison of some properties of three mutant pairs of bacterial viruses, T2r and T2r, T4r and T4r, T6r and T6r. J Exp Med. 1950 Jun 1;91(6):619–636. doi: 10.1084/jem.91.6.619. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. COHEN S. S., BARNER H. D. Studies on the induction of thymine deficiency and on the effects of thymine and thymidine analogues in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1956 May;71(5):588–597. doi: 10.1128/jb.71.5.588-597.1956. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. COHEN S. S., SCOTT D. B. M. Formation of pentose phosphate from 6-phosphogluconate. Science. 1950 May 19;111(2890):543–544. doi: 10.1126/science.111.2890.543. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Cohen S. S., Barner H. D. STUDIES ON UNBALANCED GROWTH IN ESCHERICHIA COLI. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1954 Oct;40(10):885–893. doi: 10.1073/pnas.40.10.885. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. HUBERT-HABART M., COHEN S. S. The toxicity of 9-beta-D-arabinofuranosyladenine to purine-requiring Escherichia coli. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1962 May 21;59:468–471. doi: 10.1016/0006-3002(62)90198-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. KANAZIR D., BARNER H. D., FLAKS J. G., COHEN S. S. Some physiological and genetic properties of a strain of Escherichia coli requiring thymine, arginine and uracil. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1959 Aug;34:341–353. doi: 10.1016/0006-3002(59)90287-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. LEPAGE G. A., JUNGA I. G. METABOLISM OF PURINE NUCLEOSIDE ANALOGS. Cancer Res. 1965 Jan;25:46–52. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. NICHOLS W. W. IN VITRO CHROMOSOME BREAKAGE INDUCED BY ARABINOSYLADENINE IN HUMAN LEUKOCYTES. Cancer Res. 1964 Sep;24:1502–1505. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. SCHAEFFER H. J., BHARGAVA P. S. ENZYME INHIBITORS. V. THE SYNTHESES OF 6-SUBSTITUTED-(9-HYDROXYALKYL)PURINES AND THEIR EVALUATION AS INHIBITORS OF ADENOSINE DEAMINASE. Biochemistry. 1965 Jan;4:71–76. doi: 10.1021/bi00877a013. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. STERN J. L., SEKIGUCHI M., BARNER H. D., COHEN S. S. THE SYNTHESIS OF MESSENGER RNA WITHOUT PROTEIN SYNTHESIS. I. STUDIES WITH THYMINELESS STRAINS OF ESCHERICHIA COLI. J Mol Biol. 1964 May;8:629–637. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(64)80113-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. York J. L., LePage G. A. A proposed mechanism for the action of 9-beta-D-arabinofuranosyladenine as an inhibitor of the growth of some ascites cells. Can J Biochem. 1966 Jan;44(1):19–26. doi: 10.1139/o66-003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Bacteriology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES