2-Aminopurine induced mutations in T4 bacteriophage

Summary Treatment of E. coli B bacteria by the base analogue 2-aminopurine, before infection with T4 phages, induces mutations of the transition type into the virus. Treatment of the phage-bacterium complex, only during the first four minutes of the latent period i.e. at a moment where no phage DNA is synthetized, is also mutagenic. The kinetics of acquisition and loss by treated bacteria of mutagenicity and the action of various metabolic inhibitors show that the base analogue is stored into the bacterial or the phage messenger RNA from which it is reused to be incorporated into the phage DNA.This investigation was supported by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (L. A. No 86 et 136), l'Institut Pasteur, la Délégation Générale à la Recherche Scientifique and la Fondation pour la Recherche Medicale.