Bacteriophage T4 DNA topoisomerase mediates illegitimate recombination in vitro.

We have found that purified T4 DNA topoisomerase promotes recombination between two phage lambda DNA molecules in an in vitro system. In this cross, T4 DNA topoisomerase alone is able to catalyze the recombination and produce a linear monomer recombinant DNA that can be packaged in vitro. ATP is not required for this recombination, while oxolinic acid stimulates it. The recombinant DNA molecules contain duplications or deletions, and the crossovers take place between nonhomologous and nonspecific sequences of lambda DNA. Therefore, the recombination mediated by the T4 DNA topoisomerase is an illegitimate recombination that is similar to that mediated by Escherichia coli DNA gyrase. A model was proposed previously in which DNA gyrase molecules that are bound to DNA associate with each other and lead to the exchange of DNA strands through the exchange of DNA gyrase subunits. This model is also applicable to the recombination mediated by T4 DNA topoisomerase.