The effect of host-cell starvation on virus-induced lysis by MS2 bacteriophage.

Infection of glucose, sulphur or nitrogen starved cells with MS2 virus results in the production of progeny virus but the absence of cell lysis and the failure of progeny virus release. Addition of glucose of sulphur to the correspondingly starved cells results in the normal release of virus within 40 to 60 min. Return of nitrogen to nitrogen-starved cells, however, does not result in the release of virus, even after 1 1/2 h. In experiments with uninfected, starved cells it was found that glucose or sulphur starved cells begin dividing within 45 min after the limiting compound is returned. In contrast, nitrogen-starved cultures have not begun to divide 1 1/2 after the return of nitrogen. The correlation between the time it takes for starved, infected cultures to resume lysis after the return of the limiting compound and the time similarly starved, but infected, cells normally begin division after addition of the limiting compound supports the hypothesis that lysis by RNA phage is related to cell division and may result at the time of cell division from failure of the cells to divide properly.