Application of XeCl308nm excimer laser radiation to mutagenesis of industrial microorganisms

(UV) lamps are widely used in mutagenesis-selection protocols. Nevertheless, since the eighties, due to the development of excimer lasers, new frontiers in the study of UV applications have been opened. It has been established that the presence of an intact SOS response system is required for the mutagenic effect of UV254 nm. The exposure to UV254 nm radiation is not mutagenic for Escherichia coli mutants lacking the RecA protein, the regulator of the SOS response.We have recently demonstrated that at variance with the UV254 nm mutagenesis, the UV308 nm mutagenesis by XeCl308 nm excimer laser is RecA-independent. This suggests that the UV308 nm might be mutagenic also in microorganisms naturally lacking the SOS response. In this study, we have developed an innovative mutagenesis protocol based on a homemade XeCl308 nm excimer laser and have demonstrated its efficiency on mutagenesis of Nonomuraea American type culture collection 39727, an industrial strain producing an antibiotic, which is relatively refractory to UV254 nm radiation-induced mutagenesis