Sedimentation Coefficient and Fragility under Hydrodynamic Shear as Measures of Molecular Weight of the DNA of Phage T5

Effective breakage of phage .LAMBDA. DNA by shearing with ceramic-coated needle of syringe

The loss of biological activity of phage lambda DNA was much greater when the DNA was sheared using a ceramic-coated needle attached to a syringe compared with a conventional stainless steel needle. Inactivation of the biological activity was due to breakage at the middle of the molecule. The thickness of the ceramic-coating was a crucial factor for the breakage. Because approximately the same level of inactivation was observed with a non-coated needle as with thin glass and quartz tubes, it was concluded that the unknown characteristic(s) of the silicon nitride (SiNx) coating itself resulted in the effective breakage of lambda DNA molecules by shearing force.

THE ARRANGEMENTS OF NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCES IN T2 AND T5 BACTERIOPHAGE DNA MOLECULES

The genetic map of T4 (and T2) bacteriophage is circular but the DNA molecule that is liberated by phenol extraction is a linear duplex of polynucleotide chains. If the genetic map is related to the physical structure of the DNA molecule, the problem arises as to how a linear molecule can give rise to a circular map. An explanation can be made on the basis that the bacteriophage liberate molecules which have nucleotide sequences which are circular permutations of each other. Thus, markers which are most distant on one molecules are closest together on another. To test this hypothesis, the middles of T2 and T5 DNA molecules were mechanically deleted and the absence of certain nucleotide sequences was tested by "renaturation" or "reannealing" experiments using columns containing denatured DNA immobilized in agar beads. The results indicate that when the middles are deleted from the T5 DNA molecule, some special sequences are removed; whereas, when the middles are deleted from the T2 DNA molecule, no special group of sequences is removed. This would indicate that T2 molecules begin at different points in their nucleotide sequence, while T5 molecules all begin at the same point. It is likely that this permutation of sequences of T2(T4) molecules is related to the circularity of their genetic map.

Restriction enzyme mapping of vaccinia virus DNA

The cleavage sites for the restriction enzymes Bg/I, HindIII, KpnI, SalI, SmaI, and XhoI were located, from primary data, on the DNA isolated from the WR strain of vaccinia virus. Bg/I and SmaI divide the DNA into five segments which can be isolated by sucrose gradient centrifugation. These large segments provide a convenient means to group segments produced by other enzymes. The construction of physical maps was initiated by identifying the segments at each end of the DNA and then finding segments which were adjacent to these terminal sections. This was accomplished by isolating large shear fragments which contained the covalently linked termini of the DNA. Most of the data needed to derive the maps were obtained by isolating segments produce by one enzyme and then cleaving these individual segments with a second enzyme.

Fine structures in denaturation curves of bacteriophage lambda DNA. Their relation to the intramolecular heterogeneity in base compositon

Precise recording of polyphasic optical melting curves was carried out for three kinds of bacteriophage lambda DNA differing in length (lambdac1857s7, lambdacIb2 and lambdacIb2b5). Each of denaturation steps in melting profiles was characterized by two parameters, the melting temperature and the relative size. Any difference in fine structures in melting profiles was not recognized between the intact lambdacI857s7DNA and the DNA fragmented into halves. The change in fine structures in melting profiles caused by the deletions of the b2 and b5 region agreed qualitatively well with the prediction based on the physical and the genetical maps of phage lambda chromosome. The combined results indicate that, first, the well-known linear relationship between melting temperature and G+C content may apply also to each of denaturation steps in polyphasic melting curves due to heterogeneity of nucleotide distribution in a single DNA species, and, second, the effect of molecular ends on melting fine structures can be neglected at moderate salt concentration (0.01 M less than or equal to Na+ less than or equal to 0.2 M) for such a high molecular weight DNA. The heterogeneous distribution of nucleotides was derived for lambdaDNA and for its b2 and b5 regions.

Synergistic inactivation of viruses by heat and ionizing radiation

Viral inactivation by heat and/or ionizing radiation is analyzed in terms of a kinetic model. The phenomenon of synergistic viral inactivation observed when viruses are exposed to the simultaneous application of heat and ionizing radiation is interpreted within the framework provided by this three-term model. Data on the inactivation of T4 bacteriophage by heat and/or ionizing radiation is presented, and the kinetic model is used to provide a description of observed dose rate and temperature dependences. Extension of the model to other viral systems inactivated by heat and ionizing radiation is considered, and the general applicability of these analyses suggests that the kinetic model may well serve as an extension of target theory in describing the radiobiological effects of ionizing radiation.

Mature form of the deoxyribonucleic acid from chick embryo lethal orphan virus

The deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of chick embryo lethal orphan (CELO) virus, an oncogenic avian adenovirus, had a biphasic denaturation profile indicating intramolecular base composition heterogeneity. This was confirmed by shearing the DNA and centrifuging it to equilibrium in Cs(2)SO(4) in the presence of HgCl(2) when two bands were formed. No circular molecules formed when CELO virus DNA was annealed, although lambda DNA formed circles under the same conditions. No circular molecules were found by sedimentation or electron microscopy when the DNA was digested with exonuclease III and then annealed, but 30 to 40% of T7 DNA molecules became circular under similar conditions. The complementary strands of CELO virus DNA both appeared to be continuous, and, when CELO DNA was denatured and then annealed under appropriate conditions, all of the renatured molecules were linear. It is concluded that CELO virus DNA consists of a unique rather than permuted collection of linear molecules that lack exposed single-strand complementary ends or duplex terminal repetitions. These results are discussed in relation to the replication of viral DNA and the transformation of host cells.

On the replication of incomplete chromosomes of phage T4

Some small particles of phage T4 contain incomplete chromosomes measuring two thirds of the length of normal T4 chromosomes. They cannot produce progeny phage after single infection because their incomplete chromosomes lack random segments of the genetic map. We have investigated the replication of DNA following single infection with small particles. Our results indicate that approximately two thirds of the incomplete chromosomes can initiate DNA replication and apparently extend the process from a genetically fixed origin to one end of the molecule. However, few if any of the incomplete chromosomes can initiate a second round of replication. The incomplete chromosomes which do not replicate also do not attach to bacterial membranes.

First-step-transfer deoxyribonucleic acid of bacteriophage T5

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Fragment Sizes Produced from T5 Bacteriophage DNA Molecules by Acid Deoxyribonuclease

The action of acid deoxyribonuclease on T5 bacteriophage DNA results in a "random distribution" of sizes of duplex fragments as judged by electron microscopy. No preferred subunit size resulting from the "single hit" action can be detected down to lengths of 0.1 micron or less. The results are in agreement with the coexistence of a "single-hit" and a "double-hit" kinetics.