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Abstract
In their natural environment, bacteria most often live in nutrient-limiting conditions and are exposed to various stresses such as UV radiation. As a result, they have evolved a number of protective mechanisms, such as the SOS response, to prevent DNA damage. Bacteria in exponential, stationary, or death phase may be prone to UV damage to different degrees depending on the fidelity and the accuracy of the DNA repair systems. To investigate how the DNA repair mechanisms are operating in Escherichia coli during log and stationary phase, survival of the cells in response to UV irradiation was assessed. In stationary phase, Escherichia coli demonstrated increased resistance to UV exposure compared to cells in exponential phase. This indirectly suggests either an up-regulation of DNA repair mechanisms during stationary phase or a decreased rate of DNA replication, which allows more time for DNA repair.