Summary
In bacterial cells near-ultraviolet radiation (NUV) generates H2O2 which can be decomposed by endogenous catalase to H2O and O2. To assess the roles of H2O2 and catalase in NUV lethality, we manipulated the amount of intracellular catalase (a) by the use of mutant and plasmid strains with altered endogenous catalase, (b) physiologically, by the addition of glucose, and (c) by induction of catalase synthesis with oxidizing agents. Not only was there no direct correlation between NUV-resistance and catalase activity, but in some cases the correlation was inverse. Also, while there was correlation between NUV and H2O2 sensitivity for most strains tested, there were a number of exceptions which indicates that the modes of killing were different for the two agents.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahmad SI (1981) Synergistic killing of coliphage T7 by near-ultraviolet radiation plus hydrogen peroxide: possible role of superoxide radicals. Photobiochem Photophys 2:173–180
Alper MD, Ames BN (1975) Cyclic 3′,5′-adenosine monophosphate phosphodiesterase mutants of Salmonella typhimurium. J Bacteriol 122:1081–1090
Ananthaswamy HN, Eisenstark A (1976) Near-UV-induced breaks in phage DNA: sensitization by H2O2. Photochem Photobiol 24:439–442
Carlioz A, Touati D (1986) Isolation of superoxide dismutase mutants in E. coli: is superoxide dismutase necessary for aerobic life? EMBO J 5:623–630
Carlsson J, Carpenter VS (1980) The recA gene product is more important than catalase and superoxide dismutase in protecting Escherichia coli against hydrogen peroxide toxicity. J Bacteriol 142:319–321
Chase JW, Masker WE (1972) Deoxyribonucleic acid repair in Escherichia coli mutants deficient in the 5′-3′ exonuclease activity of deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase I and exonuclease VII. J Bacteriol 130:667–675
Christman FM, Morgan RW, Jacobson FS, Ames BN (1985) Positive control of a regulon for defense against oxidative stress and some heat-shock proteins in Salmonella typhimurium. Cell 41:753–762
Demple B, Halbrook J (1983) Inducible repair of oxidative damage in E. coli. Nature 304:466–468
Demple B, Halbrook J, Linn S (1983) E. coli xth mutants are hypersensitive to hydrogen peroxide. J Bacteriol 153:1079–1082
Eisenstark A (1985) Recovery from near-ultraviolet radiation damage in bacteria. In: Schaechter M, Neidhardt FC, Ingraham JI, Kjeldgaard NO (eds) The Molecular Biology of Bacterial Growth, Jones and Bartlett Publ Inc, Boston, pp 243–255
Hartman PS (1986) In situ hydrogen peroxide production may account for a portion of NUV (300-400 nm) inactivation of stationary phase E. coli. Photochem Photobiol 43:87–89
Hartman PS, Eisenstark A (1978) Synergistic killing of E. coli by near-UV radiation and hydrogen peroxide: distinction between recA-repairable and recA-nonrepairable damage. J Bacteriol 131:769–779
Hartman PS, Eisenstark A, Pauw PG (1979) Near-ultraviolet radiation plus H2O2 inactivation on phage T7: DNA-protein crosslinks prevent DNA injection.Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 76:3328–3232
Hassan HM, Fridovich J (1978) Regulation of the synthesis of catalase and peroxidase in E. coli J Biol Chem 253:6445–6450
Levine SA (1977) Isolation and characterization of catalase deficient mutants of Salmonella typhimurium. Mol Gen Genet 150:2105–2209
Loewen PC, Triggs BL (1984) Genetic mapping of katF, a locus that with katE affects the synthesis of a second catalase species in E. coli. J Bacteriol 160:668–675
Loewen PC, Triggs BL, Klassen GR, Weiner JH (1983) Identification and physical characterization of a Col El hybrid plasmid containing a catalase gene of E. coli. Can J Biochem Gen Biol 61:1315–1321
McCormick JP, Fisher JR, Pachlatko JP, Eisenstark A (1976) Characterization of a cell-lethal tryptophan photooxidation product: hydrogen peroxide. Science 191:468–469
Peters MJ, Jagger J (1981) Inducible repair of near-UV radiation lethal damage in E. coli. Nature 289:194–195
Richter HE, Loewen PC (1982) Catalase synthesis in Escherichia coli is not controlled by catabolite repression. Arch Biochem Biophys 215:72–77
Rørth M, Jensen PK (1967) Determination of catalase activity by means of the Clark oxygen electrode. Biochem Biophys Acata 139:171–173
Sammartano J, Tuveson RW (1983) Escherichia coli xthA mutants are sensitive to inactivation by broad-spectrum near-ultraviolet radiation (300-400 nm). J Bacteriol 156:904–906
Sammartano LJ, Tuveson RW (1985) Hydrogen peroxide induced resistance to broad-spectrum near-ultraviolet light (300-400 nm) inactivation in Escherichia coli. Phytochem Photobiol 41:367–370
Sinha AK (1972) Colorimetric assay of catalase. Anal Biochem 47:380–394
Strauch KL, Lenk JB, Gamble BL, Miller CG (1985) Oxygen regulation in Salmonella typhimurium. J Bacteriol 161:673–680
Tuveson RW, Jonas RB (1979) Genetic control of near-UV (300-400 nm) sensitivity independent of the recA gene in strains of E. coli K12. Photochem Photobiol 30:667–676
Tyrrell RM (1985) A common pathway for protection of bacteria by solar UVA (334 nm-365 nm) and an oxidizing agent (H2O2). Mutat Res 145:129–136
White BJ, Hochhauser SJ, Cintron NM, Weiss B (1976) Genetic mapping of xthA, the structural gene for exonuclease III in E. coli K-12. J Bacteriol 126:1082–1088
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by R. Devoret
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Eisenstark, A., Perrot, G. Catalase has only a minor role in protection against near-ultraviolet radiation damage in bacteria. Mol Gen Genet 207, 68–72 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00331492
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00331492