Excision and duplication of su3+-transducing fragments carried by bacteriophage phi 80. I. Novel structure of phi 80sus2psu3+ DNA molecule.

DNA molecules of phi 80sus2psu3+ and phi 80dsu3+ isolated by Andoh and Ozeki (1968) were studied by the electron microscope heteroduplex method. The phi 80sus2psu3+ and phi 80dsu3+ DNA lengths were found to be 108.7 and 103.3% of the phi 80 DNA, respectively. The phi 80sus2psu3+/phi 80 heteroduplex shows an insertion loop of 8.7% of the phi 80 DNA which migrates from 7.7 to 9.7%, as measured relative to the left (0%) and right (100%) termini of the mature phi 80 DNA molecule. The region of loop migration occupies the central region of the phi 80 head gene cluster. The presence of su3+-containing Escherichia coli DNA of 6.7% phi 80 unit flanked by two homologous regions of phage DNA of 2.0% of phi 80 unit gives rise to a movable insertion loop. In phi 80dsu3+, from which phi 80sus2psu3+ was derived, 50.5% of the phi 80 DNA at the left arm was replaced by E. coli DNA containing the su3+ gene, equivalent to about 53.8% phi 80 unit in length. The phi 80sus2psu3+/phi 80dsu3+ heteroduplex appears as a double-stranded molecule that bifurcates into two clearly visible single-stranded regions, rejoins, bifurcates, and rejoins again. The middle double-stranded stretches of 6.7% phi 80 unit correspond to the E. coli DNA inserted in phi 80sus2psu3+. Therefore the transducing fragment carried by phi 80sus2psu3+ originates from the inside region of the transducing fragment of defective phage phi 80dsu3+ by at least two illegitimate recombination events.