Induction of mutation by photodynamic action in<i>Escherichia coli</i>

Abstract

Photodynamic action, the dye-sensitized autoxidation of the materials accelerated by the action of visible light, is capable of inactivating different kinds of biological systems such as yeast Among various photosensitizing agents acridine dyes are of special interest, because these dyes combine specifically with nucleic acids The photodynamic inactivation of yeast Mutation induction by visible light in Serratia pretreated with erythrosine was also reported by However, photodynamic mutagenecity caused by acridine has not yet been reported so far as the authors know. It is interesting to examine whether or not the action of visible light combined with acridine dyes can alter genetic material and induce mutation.