Relationships among different strains of T7 and among T7-related bacteriophages》.pdf

VIROLOGY 95, TO-84 (1979) Relationships among Different Strains of T7 and among T7-Related Bacteriophages F. WILLIAM STUDIER Biology Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973 Accepted January 4, 1979 DNAs of the related bacteriophages T7, T3, @II, H, @I, and W31 have been cut with the restriction endonuclease HpaI and the DNA fragments analyzed by gel electrophoresis. A characteristic pattern of fragments was produced from each DNA, only @II and H DNA giving patterns that were obviously related to each other. Thus HpaI restriction patterns can be used to provide rapid and positive identification of these closely related phages. Restriction analysis, together with plating behavior and biochemical characteristics, has revealed a remarkable diversity among strains of the same phage from different laboratories. Of T7 strains received from 19 sources only 8 corresponded to the original wild-type T7, the others being different pure deletion mutants of T7, mixtures of wild-type and different mutants, one host-range mutant, and two strains that were actually T3. Divergence in different lines of other T7-related phages was also observed, as were some additional cases of mistaken identity. Deletions in the gene 0.7 region seem to be a common type