Lytic action of cloned phi X174 gene E. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • The phi X174 lysis gene E was placed under control of the lac promoter by cloning into the multicopy plasmid pBH20. Other phi X174 gene sequences were removed by nuclease digestion. Expression of gene E was shown to be necessary and sufficient to produce lysis phenomena exhibited by infection with intact phage. Lysis, its inhibition by MgSO4 and spermine, its progression through a spheroplasting stage, and its dependence on an early chloramphenicol-sensitive step were reproduced in clones induced for expression of the E gene product. Escherichia coli clones carrying the E gene not under lac control, and clones under lac control but only minimally induced for gene E expression, exhibited morphological aberrations consistent with the view that the mechanism by which gene E mediates cell lysis is related to host cell division processes.

published proceedings

  • J Virol

altmetric score

  • 12

author list (cited authors)

  • Young, K. D., & Young, R.

citation count

  • 76

complete list of authors

  • Young, KD||Young, R

publication date

  • December 1982