Further Studies on Cerenkov-Induced Photoreactivatable Damage in E. coli

Experiments are described which present further evidence for Cerenkov emission being responsible for the induction of photoreactivatable damage in Escherichia coli by high-energy X irradiation. In addition, data are presented which demonstrate the induction of nonphotoreactivatable damage by Cerenkov emission. An experimental technique is described for optimizing the yield of photoreactivatable damage which is based on the physics of Cerenkov generation.