Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1970 Apr;102(1):36–42. doi: 10.1128/jb.102.1.36-42.1970

Ultraviolet Irradiation of the Vegetative Cells of Dictyostelium discoideum

J O Freim Jr a,1, R A Deering a
PMCID: PMC284967  PMID: 4908683

Abstract

Experiments on the effect of ultraviolet (UV) light on the survival of vegetative Dictyostelium discoideum cells indicate that this is a relatively UV-resistant organism. Several factors suggest the presence of some type of repair process. Experiments to test for liquid-holding recovery and simple photoreactivation yielded negative results. Acriflavine and caffeine were utilized to possibly interfere with dark repair. Acriflavine produced no UV sensitization, but caffeine did cause a concentration-dependent decrease in survival of irradiated cells. When UV-irradiated cells were illuminated with photoreactivating light while suspended in caffeine, the survival increased above that for cells treated with caffeine alone, suggesting an overlap between lesions repaired by photorepair and dark repair. Growth experiments showed that UV light induced a dose-dependent division delay, followed by a period of retarded growth characterized by the presence of a constant fraction of nonviable cells in the irradiated population. The delayed exposure of cells to caffeine after irradiation showed that the magnitude of the caffeine sensitization diminished throughout the division-delay period. An action spectrum indicated probable nucleoprotein involvement in the induction of division delay. UV light retarded ribonucleic acid and protein synthesis and temporarily blocked deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis. However, synthesis of all three accelerated prior to the end of the division-delay period and then closely paralleled the increase in cell number.

Full text

PDF

Selected References

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

  1. Coohill T. P., Deering R. A. Ultraviolet light inactivation and photoreactivation of Blastocladiella emersonii. Radiat Res. 1969 Aug;39(2):374–385. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Davies D. R. Repair mechanisms and variations in UV sensitivity within the cell cycle. Mutat Res. 1965 Dec;2(6):477–486. doi: 10.1016/0027-5107(65)90013-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. FEINER R. R., HILL R. F. EFFECT OF BASIC DYES ON HOST-CELL REACTIVATION OF ULTRA-VIOLETIRRADIATED PHAGE. Nature. 1963 Oct 19;200:291–293. doi: 10.1038/200291a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. HANAWALT P., SETLOW R. Effect of monochromatic ultraviolet light on macromolecular synthesis in Escherichia coli. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1960 Jul 1;41:283–294. doi: 10.1016/0006-3002(60)90011-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. HOHL H. R., RAPER K. B. Nutrition of cellular slime molds. I. Growth on living and dead bacteria. J Bacteriol. 1963 Jan;85:191–198. doi: 10.1128/jb.85.1.191-198.1963. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. JAGGER J., LATARJET R. Spectres d'action de la photo-restauration chez E. coli B/r. Ann Inst Pasteur (Paris) 1956 Dec;91(6):858–873. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. JAGGER J., STAFFORD R. S. EVIDENCE FOR TWO MECHANISMS OF PHOTOREACTIVATION IN ESCHERICHIA COLI B. Biophys J. 1965 Jan;5:75–88. doi: 10.1016/s0006-3495(65)86703-0. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. KECK K. An ultramicro technique for the determination of deoxypentose nucleic acid. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1956 Aug;63(2):446–451. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(56)90059-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. KELNER A. Action spectra for photoreactivation of ultraviolet-irradiated Escherichia coli and Streptomyces griseus. J Gen Physiol. 1951 Jul;34(6):835–852. doi: 10.1085/jgp.34.6.835. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. LOWRY O. H., ROSEBROUGH N. J., FARR A. L., RANDALL R. J. Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem. 1951 Nov;193(1):265–275. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. MOROWITZ H. J. Absorption effects in volume irradiation of microorganisms. Science. 1950 Mar 3;111(2879):229–229. doi: 10.1126/science.111.2879.229-a. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Patrick M. H., Rupert C. S. The effects of host-cell reactivation on assay of U.V.-irradiated Haemophilus influenzae transforming DNA. Photochem Photobiol. 1967 Jan;6(1):1–20. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-1097.1967.tb08785.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Rauth A. M. Evidence for dark-reactivation of ultraviolet light damage in mouse L cells. Radiat Res. 1967 May;31(1):121–138. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Roberts R. B., Aldous E. RECOVERY FROM ULTRAVIOLET IRRADIATION IN ESCHERICHIA COLI. J Bacteriol. 1949 Mar;57(3):363–375. doi: 10.1128/jb.57.3.363-375.1949. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. SETLOW R. B. PHYSICAL CHANGES AND MUTAGENESIS. J Cell Physiol. 1964 Oct;64:SUPPL 1–1:68. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. SETLOW R. B., SWENSON P. A., CARRIER W. L. THYMINE DIMERS AND INHIBITION OF DNA SYNTHESIS BY ULTRAVIOLET IRRADIATION OF CELLS. Science. 1963 Dec 13;142(3598):1464–1466. doi: 10.1126/science.142.3598.1464. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. SUSSMAN R. R., SUSSMAN M. Cellular differentiation in dictyosteliaceae; heritable modifications of the developmental pattern. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1953 Oct 14;56(5):949–960. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1953.tb30274.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Sauerbier W. Inhibition of host cell reactivation in phage T1 by caffeine. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1964;14:340–346. doi: 10.1016/s0006-291x(64)80007-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Setlow R. B. The photochemistry, photobiology, and repair of polynucleotides. Prog Nucleic Acid Res Mol Biol. 1968;8:257–295. doi: 10.1016/s0079-6603(08)60548-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Sussman M. Some genetic and biochemical aspects of the regulatory program for slime mold development. Curr Top Dev Biol. 1966;1:61–83. doi: 10.1016/s0070-2153(08)60009-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Swenson P. A., Setlow R. B. Effects of ultraviolet radiation on macromolecular synthesis in Escherichia coli. J Mol Biol. 1966 Jan;15(1):201–219. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(66)80221-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. WITKIN E. M. THE EFFECT OF ACRIFLAVINE ON PHOTOREVERSAL OF LETHAL AND MUTAGENIC DAMAGE PRODUCED IN BACTERIA BY ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1963 Sep;50:425–430. doi: 10.1073/pnas.50.3.425. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES