Action of bleomycin on the bacteriophate T7 infection

A decrease in production of bacteriophage T7 was observed in bleomycin-treated Escherichia coli B cells. Bleomycin was found to shorten the eclipse in phage growth. A T7 early gene product, the T7-specific RNA polymerase which catalyzed the transcription of late gene appeared more rapidly in the bleomycin-treated cells than in the non-treated cells. The rate of phage adsorption increased to some extent in drug-treated cells. A possible mechanism to explain the mode of action of bleomycin is discussed.