Knockout and Plasmid Complementation of the pprA Gene in the Radioresistant Bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans

Radioresistance of Deinococcus species is attributed to their highly proficient DNA repair capacity, in which a set of proteins involved in DNA repair is induced following exposure to ionizing radiation. PprA (named after pleiotropic protein promoting DNA repair) has been known for its role in radioresistance in D. radiodurans. In this study, to delineate the detailed function of PprA in DNA repair, a pprA knockout strain (XPA2) and its plasmid-complemented strain of D. radiodurans was generated and survivals of the strains following exposure to gamma-rays was measured. Moreover, a library of mutant PprA that probably lost DNA binding activity was made by random mutagenesis and expressed in XPA2