Inactivation of bacteriophage lambda by combined X-ray and U.V.-light exposure

Extracellular phage lambda has been successively exposed to X-rays and U.V. light. The plaque-forming ability of the irradiated phages was determined on host cells with different repair capacities. No change in sensitivity was found with a pre-treatment of one type of radiation to lethal damage inflicted by the other. This indicates that a prerequisite for an interaction of different types of radiation is either an active metabolism or repair process occurring during the two radiation exposures.