NHEJ protects mycobacteria in stationary phase against the harmful effects of desiccation

The physiological role of the non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) was examined in Mycobacterium smegmatis using DNA repair mutants (ΔrecA, Δku, ΔligD, Δku/ligD, ΔrecA/ku/ligD). Wild-type and mutant strains were exposed to a range of doses of ionizing radiation at specific points in their life-cycle. NHEJ-mutant strains (Δku, ΔligD, Δku/ligD) were significantly more sensitive to ionizing radiation (IR) during stationary phase than wild-type M. smegmatis. However, there was little difference in IR sensitivity between NHEJ-mutant and wild-type strains in logarithmic phase. Similarly, NHEJ-mutant strains were more sensitive to prolonged desiccation than wild-type M. smegmatis. A ΔrecA mutant strain was more sensitive to desiccation and IR during both stationary and especially in logarithmic phase, compared to wild-type strain, but it was significantly less sensitive to IR than the ΔrecA/ku/ligD triple mutant during stationary phase. These data suggest that NHEJ and homologous recombination are the preferred DSB repair pathways employed by M. smegmatis during stationary and logarithmic phases, respectively.