[Physical mapping of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2). V. Structural modifications of actinophage phiC43 DNA molecules]

As shown by genetical and physical methods, the total preparation of phiC43 phage obtained after spontaneous induction of the prophage from S. lividans 803 strain is a heterogenous population. The wild-type phage (phi C43 wt) is only represented in 5--10% of the population. The majority of phage variants are not able to establish the lysogenic state. The structure of DNA molecules of some phages from the total preparations was characterized by electron microscopy of DNA heteroduplexes. Molecules of phiC43 wt DNA appeared to be completely homologous to those of recently studied phiC62 phage, except for two small regions of approximately 0.3 kb in the central part. Phage variants defective in establishment of the lysogenic state were distributed to two groups. One of them consists of deletion variants, the other--deletion/insertion variants. Deletions in DNA molecule of all nonlysogenizing phage overlap. The region of overlapping seems to be responsible for establishment of the lysogenic state. In the same region, deletion of DNA molecules of mutant phiC311 yg2 has been located. Three deletion/insertion variants contain homologous foreign sequences of various length. It is likely that these insertions are fragments of the host chromosomal DNA.