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Dissociation by Chelating Agents and Substructure of the Thermophilic Bacteriophage TP84

^a Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801

ABSTRACT

The thermophilic bacteriophage TP84 is dissociated into its head, tail, and released deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) by chelating agents such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and phosphate. The phage is more sensitive to EDTA than to phosphate, and dialysis against either agent causes more effective dissociation than standing in their presence. The tail possesses a knobbed structure which is inserted into the head of the intact phage and to which the DNA appears to be attached. The method of dissociating TP84 described in this paper provides a source of undamaged structural components and intact strands of DNA for subsequent investigations. A possible mechanism of chelate inactivation is discussed.

¹ Present address: Department of Microbiology, State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse N.Y. 13210.

² Part of the dissertation of M. Shaw presented to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Illinois, Urbana, in partial fulfillment of requirements for the Ph.D. degree (1969). Present address: Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48103.