Studies on polylysogens containing lambda N-cI- prophages. II. Role of high multiplicities in lysogen formation by lambda N-cI- phage

Virology. 1983 Jul 30;128(2):265-70. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(83)90254-4.

Abstract

Results of the experiments presented in this paper show that lambda N-cI- phage can lysogenize a nonpermissive host Escherichia coli when it infects at very high multiplicities (around 100), and lambda N-cI-cII- and lambda cIII-N-cI- lysogenize poorly at similar high multiplicities. The latter two phages lysogenize with appreciable frequency when either lambda N-cI- or lambda int-cN-cI-cII- is used as helper. The phages, lambda N-cI-, lambda N-cI-cII-, and lambda cIII-N-cI- can lysogenize also at relatively low m.o.i. of 20 in presence of the above lambda int-c helper, and the lambda int-cN-cI-cII- phage alone forms converted lysogens at an m.o.i. as low as 12. All these results suggest that the establishment of prophage integration by lambda N-cI- is positively regulated, like lambda N+cI+ phage, by the cII/cIII-promoted expression of the int gene of lambda, and under the N- condition, high multiplicities are needed to provide optimum levels of cII and cIII products, especially the latter.

MeSH terms

  • Bacteriophage lambda / genetics
  • Bacteriophage lambda / physiology*
  • Escherichia coli / physiology*
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Genes, Viral*
  • Helper Viruses / physiology
  • Lysogeny*
  • Mutation
  • Recombination, Genetic