ESCHERICHIA COLI RHO FACTOR IS INVOLVED IN LYSIS OF BACTERIOPHAGE T4-INFECTED CELLS

Claës H. Linder ¹ and Karin Carlson ²

¹ Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Uppsala, Biomedicum, S-751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
² Institute of Medical Biology, University of Tromsø, N-9001 Tromsø, Norway

A Rid (Rho interaction deficient) phenotype of bacteriophage T4 mutants was defined by cold-sensitive restriction (lack of plaque formation) on rho⁺ hosts carrying additional polar mutations in unrelated genes, coupled to suppression (plaque formation) in otherwise isogenic strains carrying either a polarity-suppressing rho or a multicopy plasmid expressing the rho⁺ allele. This suggests that the restriction may be due to lower levels of Rho than what is available to T4 in the suppressing strains.—Rid394x4 was isolated upon hydroxylamine mutagenesis and mapped in the t gene; other t mutants (and mot, as well as dda dexA double mutants) also showed a Rid phenotype. In liquid culture in strains that restricted plaque formation Rid394x4 showed strong lysis inhibition (a known t^- phenotype) but no prolonged phage production (another well-known t^- phenotype). This implies that when Rho is limiting the t mutant shuts off phage production at the normal time. Lysis inhibition was partially relieved, and phage production prolonged to varying extents depending on growth conditions in strains that allowed plaque formation. No significant effects on early gene expression were found. Apparently, both mutant (polarity-suppressing) and wild-type Rho can function in prolonging phage production and partially relieving lysis inhibition of Rid394x4 when present at a sufficiently high level, and Rho may play other role(s) in T4 development than in early gene regulation.

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