[An evaluation of the DNA-damaging action of the metal carcinogen beryllium using a bacterial repair test].
Using four strains of E. coli with different DNA repairing capacities it was established that beryllium efficacy in the DNA repair test (extension inhibition zone and the lowest concentration inhibiting bacterial growth) depended on pH of the medium and the cation, anion concentration and the metal acted bacteriostatically. A conclusion was made that in the given case the repair test detected the nonidentified membrane function of the DNA repair system, possibly associated with the usage of exogenous orthophosphate rather than the repair synthesis in response to DNA damage by beryllium.