Inhibition of transformation and transfection in Haemophilus influenzae Rd9 by lysogeny

Haemophilus influenzae Rd9 lysogenic for temperate bacteriophage N3 was found to be virtually nontransformable and nontransfectable. This inhibition of transformation and transfection was due partly to the decreased capacity of competent lysogenic cells for irreversible binding of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and partly to some events taking place after adsorption of the DNA. The unadsorbed DNA was not degraded by the competent lysogenic cells.