Initiation of deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis after thymine starvation of Bacillus subtilis.

Evidence for premature initiation of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) replication after thymine starvation of Bacillus subtilis W23T(-) is presented, based on (i) increase in the number of ade(+) relative to met(+) transformants yielded by the DNA isolated from cultures after starvation (the ade(-) marker being near the origin of replication, whereas met(-) is close to the terminus), and (ii) increase in both the initial rate and final level of tritiated thymine incorporation in the presence of chloramphenicol after release from starvation. The marker ratio data agree quantitatively with the hypothesis that the initiation is induced only on one arm of each chromosome which was replicating prior to starvation.