Summary
The vermilion gene was used as a target to determine the mutational specificity of ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) in germ cells of Drosophila melanogaster. To study the impact of DNA repair on the type of mutations induced, both excision-repair-proficient (exr +) and excision-repair-deficient (exr −) strains were used for the isolation of mutant flies. In all, 28 mutants from the exr + strain and 24 from the exr − strain, were characterized by sequence analysis. In two mutants obtained from the exr + strain, small deletions were observed. All other mutations were caused by single base-pair changes. In two mutants double base-pair substitutions had occurred. Of the mutations induced in the exr + strain, 22 (76%) were GC→AT transitions, 3 (10%) AT→TA transversions, 2 (6%) GC→TA transversions and 2 (6%) were deletions. As in other systems, the mutation spectrum of EMS in Drosophila is dominated by GC→AT transitions. Of the mutations in an exr − background, 12 (48%) were GC→AT transitions, 7 (28%) AT→TA transversions, 5 (20%) GC→TA transversions and 1 (4%) was a AT→GC transition. The significant increase in the contribution of transversion mutations obtained in the absence of an active maternal excision-repair mechanism, clearly indicates efficient repair of N-alkyl adducts (7-ethyl guanine and 3-ethyl adenine) by the excision-repair system in Drosophila germ cells.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abrahamson S, Würgler FE, De Jongh C, Meyer HU (1980) How many loci on the X-chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster can mutate to recessive lethals? Environm Mutag 2:447–453
Ashman CR, Davidson RL (1987) DNA base sequence changes induced by ethyl methanesulfonate in a chromosomally integrated shuttle vector gene in mouse cells. Som Cell Mol Genet 13:563–568
Balgioni C (1960) Genetic control of tryptophan pyrrolase in Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila virilis. Heredity 15:87–96
Baillie DL, Chovnick A (1971) Studies on the genetic control of tryptophan pyrrolase in Drosophila melanogaster. Mol Gen Genet 112:341–353
Beranek DT, Weis CC, Swenson DH (1980) A comprehensive quantitative analysis of methylated and ethylated DNA using high pressure liquid chromatography. Carcinogenesis 1:595–606
Bhanot OP, Ray A (1986) The in vivo mutagenic frequency and specificity of O6-methylguanine in ΦX174 replicative form DNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 83:7348–7452
Boyd JB, Mason JM, Yamamoto AH, Brodberg AK, Banga SS, Sakaguchi K (1987) A genetic and molecular analysis of DNA repair in Drosophila. J Cell Sci Suppl 6, 39–60
Burns PA, Allen FL, Glickman BW (1986) DNA sequence analysis of mutagenicity and site specificity of ethyl methanesulphonate in Uvr+ and UvrB− strains of Escherichia coli. Genetics 113:811–819
Coulondre C, Miller JH (1977) Genetic studies of the lac repressor. IV. Mutagenic specificity in the lacI gene of Escherichia coli. J Mol Biol 117:577–606
Dodson LA, Foote RS, Mitra S, Masker WE (1982) Mutagenesis of bacteriophage T7 in vitro by incorporation of O6-methylguanine during DNA synthesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 79:7440–7444
Houten B van (1990) Nucleotide excision repair in Escherichia coli. Microbiol Rev 54:18–51
Ingle CA, Drinkwater NR (1989) Mutational specificities of 1'acetoxysafrole, N-benzoyloxy-N-methyl-4-aminoazobenzene, and ethyl methanesulfonate in human cells. Mutat Res 220:133–142
Kohalmi SE, Kunz BE (1989) Role of neighbouring bases and assessment of strand specificity in ethyl methanesulfonate and N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine mutagenesis in the SUP4-o gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. J Mol Biol 204:561–568
Lawley PD (1974) Some chemical aspects of dose-response relationships in alkylating mutagenesis. Mutat Res 23:283–295
Lebkowski JS, Miller JH, Calos MP (1986) Determination of DNA sequence changes induced by ethyl methanesulfonate in human cells using a shuttle vector system. Mol Cell Biol 6:1838–1842
Lefevre G Jr (1967) Sterility, chromosome breakage, X-ray-induced mutation rates and detected mutation frequencies in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics 55:263–276
Lefevre G Jr (1969) The excentricity of vermilion deficiencies in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics 63:589–600
Loeb LA, Preston BD (1986) Mutagenesis by apurinic/apyrimidinic sites. Annu Rev Genet 20:201–230
Loechler EL, Green CL, Essigmann JM (1984) In vivo mutagenesis by O6-methylguanine built into a unique site in viral genome. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 81:6271–6275
Natarajan AT, Simons JWIM, Vogel EW, Zeeland AA van (1984) Relationship between killing, chromosomal aberrations, sisterchromatid exchanges and point mutations induced by monofunctional alkylating agents in Chinese hamster cells: A correlation with different ethylation products in DNA. Mutat Res 128:31–40
O'Brien SJ, MacIntyre RJ (1978) Genetics and biochemistry of enzymes and specific proteins of Drosophila. In: Wright TRF, Ashburner M (eds) The genetics and biology of Drosophila, Vol 2a. Academic Press, New York, pp 396–551
Pastink A, Vreeken C, Nivard MJM, Searles LL, Vogel EW (1989) Sequence analysis of N-Ethyl-N-Nitrosourea-induced vermilion mutations in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics 123:123–129
Prakash L, Sherman F (1973) Mutagenic specificity: Reversion of iso-l-cytochrome c mutants of yeast. J Mol Biol 79:65–82
Saiki RR, Gelfand DH, Stoffel S, Scharf SJ, Higuchi R, Horn GT, Mulis KB, Ehrlich HA (1988) Primer-directed enzymatic amplification of DNA with a thermostable polymerase. Science 239:487–591
Saiki RK, Scharf S, Faloona F, Mulis KB, Horn GT, Ehrlich HA, Arnheim N (1985) Enzymatic amplification of β-globin genomic sequences and restriction site analysis for diagnosis of sickle cell anemia. Science 230:1350–1354
Searles LL, Voelker RA (1986) Molecular characterization of the Drosophila vermilion locus and its suppressive alleles. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 83:404–408
Searles LL, Ruth RS, Pret A, Fridell RA, Ali AJ (1990) Structure and transcription of the Drosophila melanogaster vermilion gene and several mutant alleles. Mol Cell Biol 10:1423–1431
Short JM, Fernandez JM, Sorge JA, Huse WD (198) Lambda ZAP: a bacteriophage lambda expression vector with in vivo excision properties. Nucleic Acids Res 16:7583–7600
Singer B (1976) All oxygens in nucleic acids react with carcinogenic ethylating agents. Nature (London) 264:333–339
Singer B, Grunberger D (1983) Molecular Biology of Mutagens and Carcinogens. Plenum Press, New York
Snow ET, Foote RS, Mitra S (1984) Base-pairing properties of 06-methyl-guanine in template DNA during in vitro DNA replication. J Biol Chem 259:8095–8100
Vogel EW, Natarajan AT (1979) The relation between reaction kinetics and mutagenic action of mono-functional alkylating agents in higher eukaryotic systems. I. Recessive lethal mutations and translocations in Drosophila. Mutat Res 62:51–100
Vogel EW, Natarajan AT (1982) The relation between reaction kinetics and mutagenic action of monofunctional alkylating agents in higher eukaryotic systems: interspecies comparisons. In: de Serres FJ, Hollaender A (eds) Chemical Mutagens, vol 7. Plenum, New York, pp 295–551
Vogel EW, Dusenbery RL, Smith PD (1985) The relationship between reaction kinetics and mutagenic action of monofunctional alkylating agents in higher eukaryotic systems. IV. The effects of the excision-defective mei-9 L1 and mus (2) 201 D1> mutants on alkylatinn-induced genetic damage in Drosophila. Mutat Res 149:193–207
Vogel EW (1989) Nucleotphilic selectivity of carcinogens as a determinant of enhanced mutational response in excision repair-defective strains in Drosophila: effects of 30 carcinogens. Carcinogenesis 10:2093–2106
Walker AR, Howells AJ, Tearle RG (1986) Cloning and characterization of the vermilion gene of Drosophila melanogaster. Mol Gen Genet 202:102–107
Yanisch-Perron C, Vieira J, Messing J (1985) Improved M13 phage cloning vectors and host strains: nucleotide sequences of the M13mp18 and pUC19 vectors. Gene 33:103–119
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by B.J. Kilbey
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pastink, A., Heemskerk, E., Nivard, M.J. et al. Mutational specificity of ethyl methanesulfonate in excision-repair-proficient and -deficient strains of Drosophila melanogaster . Molec. Gen. Genet. 229, 213–218 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00272158
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00272158