Development of bacteriophage alpha. II. Dependence on the host ribonucleic acid polymerase.

Measurements of ribonucleic acid (RNA) synthesis using (14)C-uracil uptake in rifampin-sensitive and rifampin-resistant strains of Bacillus megatherium were carried out after infection of the bacteria with bacteriophage alpha. Phage development was inhibited in the former but not the latter strain, showing that alpha phage development is dependent on the bacterial host RNA polymerase. This dependence exists at all times during eclipse. RNA polymerase extracts showed the same in vitro rifampin sensitivity as the corresponding bacterial strains.