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J Virol. 1969 January; 3(1): 1-7
Copyright © 1969 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Potassium Requirement for Synthesis of Macromolecules in Bacillus subtilis Infected with Bacteriophage 2C ¹

Laboratory of Pharmacology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and Departments of Microbiology and Biochemistry, University of Tennessee Medical Units, Memphis, Tennessee 38101

ABSTRACT

A mutant of Bacillus subtilis 168 (strain 168 KW), defective in its ability to concentrate K⁺ from low levels in the growth medium, was used to study the role of K⁺ in the development of phage 2C. Both the final burst size and the duration of the rise period depended on the K⁺ concentration in the medium. During normal infection (in the presence of K⁺), host deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis stopped. The synthesis of host messenger ribonucleic acid (RNA) continued throughout infection, albeit at a steadily decreasing rate. The synthesis of ribosomal RNA and its subsequent incorporation into mature ribosomes also proceeded. In contrast to these findings, host DNA and messenger RNA synthesis were not inhibited in cells infected in the absence of K⁺. Only "early" phage messenger RNA was synthesized under these conditions of infection. Phage DNA synthesis was dependent on K⁺ irrespective of the requirement for this cation in protein synthesis.

² Present address: Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Department of Medicine, University of Tennessee Medical Units, Memphis, Tenn. 38103.

¹ This paper was taken in part from a dissertation by Dawn B. Willis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree. A preliminary report of this work was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Detroit, Mich., 5-10 May 1968.