Inhibition of gene expression of T7-related phages by prophage P1

The gene expression of nine phages of the T7 group was compared after infection of Escherichia coli B(P1). With the exception of phage 13a which grew normally, all of them infected E. coli B(P1) abortively. Differences were found in the efficiency of host killing which ranged from 100% for phage 13a to 37% for phage A1122. Infection by T7 prevented colony formation by about 70% of the cells but they showed filamentous growth until about 2 h after infection. It was shown by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and autoradiography of [35S]methionine-labelled phage-coded proteins that all phages except for 13a showed measurable expression only of the early genes. No correlation was observed between killing capacity and the pattern of gene expression, and the ability to hydrolyse S-adenosyl-methionine (SAM, a cofactor for the P1 restriction endonuclease) by means of a phage-coded SAMase. Mixed infection of E. coli B(P1) with 13a and T7 yielded mixed progeny indistinguishable from that observed after mixed infection of the normal host E. coli B. Genetic crosses with amber mutants of 13a and T7 showed that the 13a marker opo+ (overcomes P one), required for growth on B(P1), is located in the early region, to the left of gene 1 (RNA polymerase gene).