Identification of the bacteriophage Mu kil gene.

The kil gene encoded in bacteriophage Mu DNA was previously shown to reside between the end of the B gene at 4.3 kb and the EcoRI site at 5.1 kb from the left end. To precisely map the kil gene within this region, two series of BAL-31 deletion derivatives were created: one removed Mu DNA rightward from the Hpal site (4.2 kb) and the other removed Mu DNA leftward from the EcoRI site. The deleted Mu DNA was subcloned into the expression vector pUC19 under lac promoter control and tested for the expression of the killing function following IPTG induction. Using DNA sequencing analysis, the Mu DNA in Kil+ and Kil- clones was precisely determined, and the kil gene was mapped to the first open reading frame beyond the B gene. The expression of the kil gene was sufficient to induce dramatic morphological changes: cells became enlarged and predominantly spherical, reminiscent of the phenotype of certain cell mutants.

Identification of the bacteriophage D108 kil gene and of the second region of sequence nonhomology with bacteriophage Mu.

To identify the second region of sequence nonhomology between the genomes of the transposable bacteriophages Mu and D108 originally observed by electron-microscopic analysis of DNA heteroduplexes and to localize functions ascribed to the 'accessory' or 'semi-essential' early regions of the phages between genes B and C, a 0.9-kb fragment of each genome located immediately beyond the B gene was cloned and sequenced. Three open reading frames (ORFs) were identified in each. The region of nonhomology is located within the 3' portion of the third ORF. D108 is shown to possess a Kil function similar to that previously shown for Mu, and that function is encoded by the first ORF.

Multiple factors and processes involved in host cell killing by bacteriophage Mu: characterization and mapping.

The regions of bacteriophage Mu involved in host cell killing were determined by infection of a lambda-immune host with 12 lambda pMu-transducing phages carrying different amounts of Mu DNA beginning at the left end. Infecting lambda pMu phages containing 5.0 (+/- 0.2) kb or less of the left end of Mu DNA did not kill the lambda-immune host, whereas lambda pMu containing 5.1 kb did kill, thus locating the right end of the kil gene between approximately 5.0 and 5.1 kb. For the Kil+ phages the extent of killing increased as the multiplicity of infection (m.o.i.) increased. In addition, killing was also affected by the presence of at least two other regions of Mu DNA: one, located between 5.1 and 5.8 kb, decreased the extent of killing; the other, located between 6.3 and 7.9 kb, greatly increased host cell killing. Killing was also assayed after lambda pMu infection of a lambda-immune host carrying a mini-Mu deleted for most of the B gene and the middle region of Mu DNA. Complementation of mini-Mu replication by infecting B+ lambda pMu phages resulted in killing of the lambda-immune, mini-Mu-containing host, regardless of the presence or absence of the Mu kil gene. The extent of host cell killing increased as the m.o.i. of the infecting lambda pMu increased, and was further enhanced by both the presence of the kil gene and the region located between 6.3 and 7.9 kb. These distinct processes of kil-mediated killing in the absence of replication and non-kil-mediated killing in the presence of replication were also observed after induction of replication-deficient and kil mutant prophages, respectively.

Synchronization of bacteriophage Mu DNA replicative transposition: analysis of the first round after induction.

The lytic cycle of bacteriophage Mu includes a large number of coupled DNA replication and integration events, each of which is equivalent in several respects to the process of transposition of genetic elements. To aid us in studying the process of Mu DNA replicative transposition, we developed a technique for synchronizing the first round of replication following induction of a lysogen. Synchronization was achieved by inducing a lysogen in the absence of DNA replication for a time sufficient to develop the potential for Mu DNA replication in all cells in the population; upon release of the inhibition of replication, a synchronized round of Mu DNA replication was observed. Development of the potential for Mu DNA replication in the entire population took approximately 12 min. Protein synthesis was required for development of the potential, but the requirement for protein synthesis was satisfied by approximately 9 min suggesting that other, as yet unspecified, reactions occupied the last 3 min. Replication proceeded predominantly from the left end of the prophage, though a significant amount of initiation from the right end was observed. The usefulness of the technique for studying the mechanism of replicative transposition and the end products of a single round of replication are discussed.

Cellular location of Mu DNA replicas.

To ascertain the form and cellular location of the copies of bacteriophage Mu DNA synthesized during lytic development, DNA from an Escherichia coli lysogen was isolated at intervals after induction of the Mu prophage. Host chromosomes were isolated as intact, folded nucleoids, which could be digested with ribonuclease or heated in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate to yield intact, unfolded nucleoid DNA. Almost all of the Mu DNA in induced cells was associated with the nucleoids until shortly before cell lysis, even after unfolding of the nucleoid structure. We suggest that the replicas of Mu DNA are integrated into the host chromosomes, possibly by concerted replication-integration events, and are accumulated there until packaged shortly before cell lysis. Nucleoids also were isolated from induced lambda lysogens and from cells containing plasmid DNA. Most of the plasmid DNA sedimented independently of the unfolded nucleoid DNA, whereas 50% or more of the lambda DNA from induced lysogens cosedimented with unfolded nucleoid DNA. Possible explanations for the association of extrachromosomal DNA with nucleoid DNA are discussed.

Fate of plasmids containing Mu DNA: chromosome association and mobilization.

The fluorescent dye, diamidinophenylindole-dihydrochloride (DAPI) can be added to CsCl gradients to enhance the density resolution of DNA species, independent of their topological configurations. When Proteus mirabilis and Escherichia coli strains carrying an RP4::Mucts plasmid were examined with the use of such a technique, it was found that after thermal induction of the prophage essentially al of the plasmid DNA became associated with the chromosome. This quantitative association is detergent-RNase- and pronase-resistant and dependent on the expression of Mu genes. The association is temporally, and probably functionally, correlated with the onset of Mu DNA replication. Genetic studies with F'::mini Mu plasmids indicate that some of the association results in stable Hfr formation, and does not require the product of Mu gene B.

Early events in the replication of Mu prophage DNA.

To determine whether the early replication of Mu prophage DNA proceeds beyond the termini of the prophage into hose DNA, the amounts of both Mu DNA and the prophage-adjacent host DNA sequences were measured using a DNA-DNA annealing assay after induction of the Mu vegetative cycle. Whereas Mu-specific DNA synthesis began 6 to 8 min after induction, no amplification of the adjacent DNA sequences was observed. These data suggest that early Mu-induced DNA synthesis is constrained within the boundaries of the Mu prophage. Since prophage Mu DNA does not undergo a prophage lambda-like excision from its original site after induction (E. Ljungquist and A. I. Bukhari, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 74:3143--3147, 1977), we propose the existence of a control mechanism which excludes prophage-adjacent sequences from the initial mu prophage replication. The frequencies of the Mu prophage-adjacent DNA sequences, relative to other Escherichia coli genes, were not observed to change after the onset of Mu-specific DNA replication. This suggests that these regions remain associated with the host chromosome and continue to be replicated by the chromosomal replication fork. Therefore, we conclude that both the Mu prophage and adjacent host sequences are maintained in the host chromosome, rather than on an extrachromosomal form containing Mu and host DNA.

Re-examination of F plasmid replication in a dnaC mutant of Escherichia coli.

The replication of an F' plasmid in a dnaC mutant, thermolabile for initiation of chromosomal replication, has been re-examined using a novel DNA-DNA annealing assay. Plasmid replication ceases rapidly at non-permissive conditions, consistent with a direct role for the dnaC product in the replication of F.

Isolation of heterogeneous circular DNA from induced lysogens of bacteriophage Mu-1.

Covalently-closed circular DNA molecules are formed after induction of phage Mu cts4 and after infection with phage Mu cts4. The circular molecules obtained after induction have a molecular length range from 36.5 to 156.7 kilobases as measured by electron microscopic techniques. These heterogeneous molecules have no consistent correlation to exact multiples of a Mu genome equivalent (37.3 +/- 1.2 kilobases). Direct evidence is given that these molecules contain phage Mu DNA that is covalently linked to other DNA sequences.