Mutator mutations in bacteriophage T4 gene 42 (dHMC hydroxymethylase).

Temperature-sensitive mutations of bacteriophage T4 gene 42 produce diverse effects upon spontaneous mutation rate. G:C vector A:T transition rates are increased, often strongly; frameshift mutation rates are weakly increased; A:T vector G:C transition rates (and perhaps also A:T vector Py:Pu transversion rates) are decreased; and one G:C vector Py:Pu transversion rate is also decreased. These results, together with certain interactions between gene-42 mutator effects and both base analogue mutagenesis and the viral error-prone repair system, suggest that the dHMC hydroxymethylase coded by gene 42 affects mutation rates in a more complex manner than by the simple regulation of the concentration of the DNA precursor dHMCTP.