A molecular characterization of spontaneous frameshift mutagenesis within the trpA gene of Escherichia coli.

Spontaneous frameshift mutations are an important source of genetic variation in all species and cause a large number of genetic disorders in humans. To enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of frameshift mutagenesis, 583 spontaneous Trp+ revertants of two trpA frameshift alleles in Escherichia coli were isolated and DNA sequenced. In order to measure the contribution of methyl-directed mismatch repair to frameshift production, mutational spectra were constructed for both mismatch repair-proficient and repair-defective strains.