Location of single-strand interruptions in the DNA of bacteriophage T5.

The positions of three single-strand interruptions in the DNA of phage T5(+) have been located by electron microscopy. All three interruptions were found in the same strand. Uneven base composition along the molecule is indicated by the preferential melting of certain regions. The data suggest a model according to which (1) the first-step-transfer DNA section is separated by a single-strand interruption from the rest of the phage genome, (2) the phage carries only one such section and therefore transfers the asymmetrical DNA molecule always in the same direction into the host cell, and (3) single-strand interruptions are points of preferred breakage.