Construction of recombinant bacteriophage for the stimulation of structural gene expression

The bacteriophage maturation process includes a series of complex interactions between molecules of protein and DNA. Some of the essential protein components are present at very low levels in phage- infected cells. Systems have been developed to amplify the expression of these proteins in order to facilitate investigations of protein functions.Hybrid bacteriophage derived from phage λ and P2 have been constructed in vitro using the R. Eco RI restriction endonuclease. The λ/P2 hybrid phage have contributed essential information for the identification of restriction enzyme recognition sites in P2 DNA and have provided a link between genetic and physical maps for phage P2. The expression of P2 structural genes in the hybrid phage has been studied and in vivo manipulation has demonstrated that transcription of P2 DNA can occur from phage X promoters.A λ duplication phage has been formed after a series of in vitro recombination reactions. The duplicated DNA includes the λ cos site and this creates the potential for 2 distinct linear monomeric phage DNA species. The patterns of protein synthesis from the duplication phage have been examined