ColE9 is a plasmid-encoded protein antibiotic produced by Escherichia coli and closely related species that kills E. coli cells expressing the BtuB receptor. The 15-kDa cytotoxic DNase domain of colicin E9 preferentially nicks double-stranded DNA at thymine bases and shares a common active-site structural motif with a variety of other nucleases, including the H-N-H homing endonucleases and the apoptotic CAD proteins of eukaryotes. Studies of the mechanism by which the DNase domain of ColE9 reaches the cytoplasm of E. coli cells are limited by the lack of a rapid, sensitive assay for the DNA damage that results. Here, we report the development of an SOS promoter-lux fusion reporter system for monitoring DNA damage in colicin-treated cells and illustrate the value of this reporter system in experiments that probe the mechanism and time required for the DNase domain of colicin E9 to reach the cytoplasm.Colicins are plasmid-encoded antibacterial proteins that are secreted as part of the stress response system of Escherichia coli to kill other bacteria. They are classified into groups on the basis of the cell surface receptor on the target cells to which they bind. The E colicins all bind to the product of the chromosomal btuB gene, an outer membrane protein that is an essential component of the high-affinity transport system for vitamin B 12 in E. coli, and they require the outer membrane protein OmpF as a coreceptor (13). Based on immunity tests, the E group colicins have been subdivided into nine types, ColE1 to ColE9. These fall into one of three cytotoxic classes: the membrane-depolarizing, or pore-forming, agent ColE1 (7); the DNases, colicins E2, E7, E8, and E9 (6); and the RNases, colicins E3, E4, E5, and E6 (17, 20). Cells producing enzymatic colicins protect themselves against the action of their own toxin by coproducing a tightly binding, inactivating immunity protein. The resulting colicin-immunity complex is released from the cells, and the immunity protein is lost from the complex upon entry into susceptible cells (13).In common with most colicins, the enzymatic E-type colicins consist of three functional domains. The killing activity is contained in the C-terminal domain, which can be isolated as a stable and active protein (11,14,21,31). The central section contains the receptor-binding (R) domain, while the N-terminal T domain is responsible for translocation of the cytotoxic domain into the cytoplasm of the target cell (1, 10). After binding to their outer membrane receptors, group A colicins, such as colicin E9, are translocated across the membrane in a process that is mediated by the tol system (1, 10). Translocation requires a specific pentapeptide sequence in the T domain, known initially as the TolA box, which is now known to interact with TolB. ColE9 contains a TolB box from residues 35 to 39, DGSGW, which has been shown by mutagenesis to be important for its killing action and for the interaction of the T domain with the translocation protein TolB. The mechanism by which TolB recognizes and s...