Influence of growth temperature and starvation state on survival and DNA damage induction in the marine bacterium Sphingopyxis alaskensis exposed to UV radiation

Despite the considerable volume of literature describing the individual effects of temperature or UV light on aquatic bacteria, little is known about their combined effects. The current study was conducted to learn about the effects of growth temperature and duration of starvation on the response of a marine bacterium, Sphingopyxis alaskensis to UV-B or simulated solar radiation. Cells grown at 12 °C or 24 °C, and harvested at early or late stationary phase, were exposed to UV-B or simulated solar radiation (>290 nm). The predominant forms of UV-induced DNA damage, namely cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) and (6-4) photoproducts (6-4PPs), were quantified using a HPLC–mass spectrometry. While the commonly accepted view that DNA damage induced by UV-B radiation is temperature-independent, we observed in S. alaskensis that the yield of photoproducts for 12 °C was generally lower than for cells grown at 24 °C. The relative distribution of DNA photoproducts also varied with growth temperature, with an increased formation of TC 6-4PP for late compared to early stationary phase cells. In contrast, with the exception of cultures grown at 12 °C exposed to simulated solar radiation, the duration of stationary phase had no effect on total photoproduct formation. Collectively, these data indicate that growth temperature has more effect than duration of starvation on the formation of photoproducts in S. alaskensis.