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Structure and Biological Activity of Deoxyribonucleic Acid from Bacillus Bacteriophage 105: Effects of Escherichia coli Exonucleases ¹

^a Department of Bacteriology and Department of Chemistry II, Karolinska Institutet, S-104 01 Stockholm 60, Sweden

ABSTRACT

The effects of Escherichia coli exonuclease I, exonuclease III, and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) polymerase on the biological activity of mature DNA from temperate Bacillus bacteriophage 105 were investigated. Intact DNA loses infectivity rapidly upon exposure to exonuclease III. Although there is an overall decrease in marker rescue from exonuclease III-digested DNA, digestion preferentially affects markers at the end of the genetic map. This is taken to indicate a nonpermuted gene sequence in mature DNA. Incubation of mature DNA in the presence of exonuclease I or DNA polymerase has no effect on its biological activity. The possible structure of the ends of mature 105 DNA is discussed. The rate of digestion of mature 105 DNA by exonuclease III is only about 1/20 the rate of DNA. Results of digestion of various DNA substrates by exonuclease III indicate that the enzyme distinguishes between different DNA terminal structures.

¹ Parts of this work were presented at the NATO conference, Uptake of Informative Molecules by Living Cells, Mol, Belgium, 1970.