Synthesis in vitro of phi29-specific early proteins directed by phage DNA.

The RNA and proteins synthesized in an Escherichia coli cell-free system of protein synthesis directed by Bacillus subtilis phage phi29 DNA were studied. Hybridization-competition experiments showed that most of the RNA species synthesized in vitro are early RNAs. Many of the early proteins induced after phage infection were also synthesized in the E. coli cell-free system. None of the late proteins, structural or non-structural, were synthesized in the system in vitro.