First Advisor

Justin Courcelle

Date of Award

Spring 6-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Biology and University Honors

Department

Biology

Language

English

Subjects

Replication Recovery, RecF, UV Survival, Growth Curve, Replisome, Keio Collection

DOI

10.15760/honors.1432

Abstract

The recovery of replication following UV-induced DNA damage in Escherichia coli correlates with the time at which the lesions are repaired, suggesting that the two processes may be coupled. holC encodes the Chi-subunit of replicative DNA polymerase III, and is nonessential for viability, but renders cells hypersensitive to UV-induced damage when mutated, suggesting it may play a specific role in restoring replication when it encounters DNA damage. Here, I characterized the role of HolC in restoring DNA replication following disruption by UV-induced damage. I found that survival following UV in strains deleted for holC was similar to that of strains deleted for recF, a protein that is specifically required to restore replication when it is disrupted by DNA damage. Further, similar to recF mutants, holC mutants fail to resume DNA synthesis following disruption by UV irradiation. I interpret these observations to be consistent with the idea that the HolC subunit of the replisome is required to restore replication following disruption by DNA damage. I discuss these results in the context of how repair may be recruited to these sites to allow replication to recover.

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/40651

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