Escherichia coli deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis mutants: their effect upon bacteriophage P2 and satellite bacteriophage P4 deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis.

Escherichia coli C strains containing different deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis mutations have been tested for their support of the DNA synthesis of bacteriophage P2 and its satellite phage P4. Bacteriophage P2 requires functional dnaB, dnaE, and dnaG E. coli gene products for DNA synthesis, whereas it does not require the products of the dnaA, dnaC, or dnaH genes. In contrast, the satellite virus P4 requires functional dnaE and dnaH gene products for DNA synthesis and does not need the products of the dnaA, dnaB, dnaC, and dnaG genes. Thus the P2 and P4 genomes are replicated differently, even though they are packaged in heads made of the same protein.