A clear-plaque mutation of bacteriophage M13 affects the regulation of viral DNA synthesis.

A clear-plaque mutation (c2) of bacteriophage M13 has been shown to affect the regulation of viral DNA synthesis. This mutation increases the amount of the duplex replicative form DNA per cell while decreasing the synthesis of viral single strands. The relative synthesis of the M13 gene 5 protein is approximately half that observed in wild-type infections, suggesting that the effect of the c2 mutation on the regulation of viral DNA synthesis is a result of reduced expression of gene 5.