Cell Lysis: Another Function of the Coat Protein of the Bacteriophage f2.

Evidence is presented that the coat protein of bacteriophage f2 causes the lysis of infected Escherichia coli. To lyse bacteria, the coat protein produced must be of the quality to produce phage particles, although it need not be produced in amounts sufficient to give a large yield of particles. Mutants that are blocked in coat-protein synthesis, or that direct the synthesis of an imperfect coat protein, do not lyse their host bacteria. In addition to its obvious structural role and its postulated regulatory role, another, perhaps enzymatic, role has been found for the coat protein of the phage f2.