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. 1964 May;87(5):1137–1139. doi: 10.1128/jb.87.5.1137-1139.1964

USE OF 5-FLUOROURACIL FOR THE ISOLATION OF AUXOTROPHIC MUTANTS OF BACILLUS MEGATERIUM

J T Wachsman a,1, L Hogg a
PMCID: PMC277158  PMID: 4959798

Abstract

Wachsman, J. T. (University of Illinois, Urbana), and L. Hogg. Use of 5-fluorouracil for the isolation of auxotrophic mutants of Bacillus megaterium. J. Bacteriol. 87:1137–1139. 1964.—The combination of 5-fluorouracil (FU) and uridine was used to selectively kill wild-type cells of Bacillus megaterium KM, thereby providing surviving populations greatly enriched in auxotrophic mutants. Exponentially growing cells were irradiated with ultraviolet light, incubated in a basal medium containing sucrose and, in most experiments, a complete amino acid mixture. Exponentially growing cells were then washed and incubated in the basal medium containing only sucrose, to deplete intracellular reserves. FU and uridine were added, and incubation was continued. After 5 hr, auxotrophs may account for up to 50% of the survivors. Organisms requiring each of the following compounds were identified: alanine, arginine, asparagine, cysteine, histidine, phenylalanine, serine, threonine, tyrosine, adenine, and guanine.

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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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