Summary
Bacillus subtilis strain SB1207, widely used in our laboratory, was found to be highly temperature-sensitive and to exhibit a strong SOS-independent mutator phenotype at elevated temperatures. Both chromosomal and plasmid-borne genes were affected by the mutator. Lethality and mutator phenotype could not be attributed to a replication shut off or to thymine starvation. Due to the high frequency of base misincorporation, the mutator phenotype probably results from an editing defect rather than from a post-replication defect (mismatch repair).
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Communicated by W. Goebel
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Viret, JF., Alonso, J.C. A new mutator strain of Bacillus subtilis . Mole Gen Genet 208, 353–356 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00330465
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00330465