The regulation of DNA repair genes expression was investigated using fused genes, in which the promoter of repair genes was hybridized with the lacZ structural gene. The activities of beta-galactosidase expressed from the fused gense were highly increased when the host cells were exposed to methylating agents, such as methyl methansulfonate (MMS), N-methyl-N'-nitro-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) and methyl nitrosourea (MNU). On the other hand, the enzyme activities from the fused genes were not induced when the cells were treated with ethylating or nonalkylating agents, such as ethyl methansulfonate (EMS), 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4NQO), Bleomycin, and Benzo(a)pyrene (BP).