Abstract

Exonuclease V (ExoV), an enzyme involved in the RecBCD pathway of recombination, was inhibited in cells induced for SOS functions. In vitro experiments showed that an ExoV inhibitor (Exi) induced after SOS induction was responsible for the inhibition of ExoV. Unlike other SOS functions, Exi protein was induced even inlexA(Ind−) mutants. Phage Mud(ampr,lac) was fused to the promoter of theexi gene in alexA(Ind−) strain, and in these fusion strainsβ-galactosidase was inducible five- to six-fold after DNA damage. The Exi protein, in addition to the inhibition of ATP-dependent DNase activity of ExoV, appeared to repress the synthesis of polypeptide subunits of ExoV as well. Further, Exi protein appeared to be an inducible repressor of a number of other genes in SOS-induced cells.

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