Fisiese karakterisering van bakteriofaag 5006M

MSc, North-West University, Potchefstroom CampusPhage 5006M is a generalized transducing phage of Proteus mirabilis 5006 (Krizsanovich, 1973). This phage is also capable of specialized transduction (Krizsanovich-Williams, 1975). To complement previous genetic work, physical studies were undertaken on phage 5006M and its nucleic acid. The purpose of the present study, as stated in Chapter 1, is to lay a foundation for the study of variants derived from the wild type phage. Chapter 2 gives a review of literature concerning the genetic and molecular aspects of transduction. In Chapters 3 and 4 the experimental approach and results obtained during the characterization of the phage and its nucleic acid, respectively, are presented. The purification of the phage, determination of its morphology and boyant density, isolation of the nucleic acid, determination of i ts G+C-content and partial denaturation studies are described. The phage has a boyant density of 1,491 g.cm-3 and contains a double-stranded DNA molecule of molecular weight 20 x 106 Dalton, which has a G+C-content of 43,9%. The genome is circularly permuted and homoduplex studies suggest no single strand interruptions. Chapter 5 is devoted to a general discussion of the experimental findings and problems encountered during the study. Inadequate electron micro= graphic resolution prevented a determination of the extent of terminal redundancy. In Chapter 6 possible applications of this study to variants of phage 5006M and animal viruses are discussed.Master