Different sensitivities of T4D and lambda mutants to photodynamic action

Photodynamic inactivation and mutagenesis by angelicin (isopsoralen) or thiopyronin (methylene red) in wild-type and repair-deficient strains of bacteriophage T4

Photodynamic inactivation of bacteriophage T4 particles, mediated by either angelicin or thiopyronin, is enhanced by defects in the T4 uvsW-uvsX-uvsY postreplication repair system but not by a defect in the denV pyrimidine-dimer-excision system. There was no evidence for functional interactions between the two repair systems. As observed previously with 8-methoxypsoralen, photodynamic mutagenesis with angelicin is abolished by defects in the uvsW-uvsX-uvsY system.

Inactivation of bacteriophage T4 by ethyl methanesulfonate: influence of host and viral genotypes

Inactivation of bacteriophage T4 by ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) is a complex process which depends critically upon the conditions of treatment and upon both the viral and the host genotypes. EMS-inactivated particles are capable of multiplicity and cross-reactivation, indicating the need for caution in using EMS in certain types of mutation studies. The pyrimidine dimer excision systems of the phage and the host do not affect the EMS sensitivity of T4, but the T4x(+)y(+) system does. Mutational defects in the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) ligase and the DNA polymerase systems both of the virus and of its host also affect viral EMS sensitivity.