DNA damage & repair

Action/ killing spectrum of UV-irradiation

Cell death
Nucleic acids

Protein

240 260 280 300 320nm

Wavelength, nm.
Some events in SOS response:
(1) Increased capacity to repair DNA

(2) Halting Cell division

(3) translesion DNA synthesis

(4) Adaptive response-Lysogenic phages turn lytic

 The SOS response
In response to extensive genetic damage there is a
regulatory system that co-ordinates the bacterial cell
response. This results in the increased expression of
>30 genes, involved in DNA repair, these include:

– recA - activator of SOS response, recombination

– sfiA (sulA - a cell division inhibitor (repair before
replication)
– umuC, D - an error prone bypass of thymine dimers
(loss of fidelity in DNA replication)
– uvrA,B,C,D - excision repair
 SOS Regulon
The SOS response is
regulated by two key
genes:
(1) lexA LexA binding site
(2) recA SOS gene

-35 -10 mRNA

RNA pol. binding sites

 The SOS response
In response to extensive genetic damage there is a regulatory
system that co-ordinates the bacterial cell response. This
results in the increased expression of >30 genes, involved
in DNA repair, these include:
recA - activator of SOS response, recombination
sfiA (sulA) - a cell division inhibitor (repair before
replication)
umuC, D - an error prone bypass of thymine dimers
(loss of fidelity in DNA replication)
uvrA,B,C,D - excision repair
The SOS response is regulated by two key genes:
recA & lexA
Lex A repressor binds to a site where
RNA polymerase binds, and thereby
prevents transcription of SOS genes

LexA binding site

SOS gene

-35 -10 mRNA

RNA pol. binding sites

 The SOS regulon
Greater than 30 genes are co-ordinately regulated by a
repressor protein, known as the LexA repressor.
This repressor protein binds to the –35 region of all the SOS
genes at specific sites.
The binding of LexA protein prevents expression of all the
‘SOS’ genes, of which the lexA gene is one.
In the presence of DNA damage the RecA protein is
‘activated’ such that it binds to LexA protein , and promotes
LexA protein to undergo autocleavage to an inactive form.
This results in expression of al the SOS genes (including the
lexA gene and the recA gene)
 Under Normal condition

Fig. LexA protein functions as repressor of many operons

Induction of SOS response in ssDNA break

The coprotease activity of RecA is activated by DNA damage.