ImuB and ImuC contribute to UV-induced mutagenesis as part of the SOS regulon in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

LUJÁN AM; MOYANO AJ; MARTINO R; FELIZIANI S; URRETA VIZCAYA M; SMANIA AM

ENRIRONMENTAL AND MOLECULAR MUTAGENESIS

Wiley Online Library

Año: 2019

1098-2280

NA damage-induced mutagenesis is a process governed by the SOS system that requires the activity of specialized DNA polymerases. These polymerases, which are devoid of proofreading activity, serve to increase the probability of survival under stressful conditions in exchange for an error-prone DNA synthesis. As an opportunistic pathogen of humans, Pseudomonas aeruginosa employs adaptive responses that originally evolved for survival in many diverse and often stressful environmental conditions, where the action of error-proneDNA polymerases may be crucial. In this study, we have investigated the role of the polymerases ImuC and ImuB in P. aeruginosa DNA-damage induced mutagenesis. UV irradiation of imuB- and imuC-deletion mutants showed that both genes contribute to UV-induced mutagenesis in this bacterium. Furthermore, we confirmed that UV treatment significantly increases the expression levels of the imuB and imuC genes and that they are cotranscribed as a single transcriptional unit