The bar-properties, in particular glucosylation of deoxy-ribonucleic acid, in crosses of bacteriophages T2 and T4

Abstract

Analysis of the inheritance of the three bar-properties of bacteriophage T4: exclusion of T2 from the progeny of crosses, glucosylation of the hydroxymethylcytosine (HMC)moiety of the DNA according to T4, and plating with large plaques onE. coliK strains, was carried out by means of marker rescue from T4 by T2 onE. coliK (λh) as a selective indicator. Five of the strains isolated plated with large plaques on K (λh), but did not exclude T2 and showed T2 glucosylation; plating onE. coliK (λh) was found to segregate from the other two bar-properties. The sixth isolate showed, in addition to plating with large plaques on K, partial non-excludability by the parental T4 and T4 glucosylation of HMC. If partial non-excludability is the result of T4 glucosylation, the role of the additional glucose substitutions might be a protective effect on the DNA against the exclusion factor of T4. This proposal is supported by the analysis of the progeny from a single burst from a cross of T4 and T2. The following T2 genes were partially excluded: host-range, no exclusion of parental T2, sensitivity to ultraviolet, and limited plating efficiency onE. coliK (λh). The exclusion factor of T4 is not transmitted to all progeny and does not behave like a bar-property. Only resistance to exclusion and T4 glucosylation were transmitted to all twenty-seven progeny of the single burst. The elimination of sensitivity to exclusion and T2 glucosylation is explained by assuming that the recombinant class with the exclusion factor of T4 and T2 α-glucosylation will exclude itself and be suicidal upon infection of a new host. Exclusion and differential glucosylation are discussed with regard to restriction and modification, respectively.