Induced Structural Defects in T-Even Bacteriophage

Multiple aberrant substructures of T-even bacteriophage particles occurred when amino acid analogues or antimetabolites were present during phage growth. Certain aberrant substructures were induced by specific analogues or antimetabolites. In particular, it was observed by electron microscopy that l-canavanine, an arginine analogue, gave rise to polyheads; l-azetidine-2-carboxylic acid, a proline analogue, gave rise to polytail tubes; and 1,2,4-trizaole-3-alanine, a histidine analogue, proflavine, and actinomycin D all gave rise to small heads. These aberrant substructures were similar to those reported earlier with conditional lethal mutants (amber) of T4D in a restrictive host.