Properties of deoxynucleoside 5'-monophosphatase induced by bacteriophage T5 after infection of Escherichia coli.

Bacteriophage T5 induced a deoxynucleoside 5'-monophosphatase during its infection of Escherichia coli. The enzyme was purified about 100-fold. It was clearly distinct from the host 5'-nucleotidase activity in its physical characteristics and substrate specificity. The enzyme was active on deoxynucleoside 5'-monophosphates but was not active as a phosphatase on ribonucleotides, deoxynucleoside 5'-triphosphates, deoxynucleoside 3'-monophosphates, or deoxyoligonucleotides. Furthermore, it did not have oligonucleotidase or exonuclease activity. The enzyme could exist in multimeric form but had a monomer molecular weight of about 25,000.