Modification of leucyl-sRNA after bacteriophage infection

Abstract

Aminoacyl-sRNA's of Escherichia coli B with and without bacteriophage T2 infection have been examined using methylated albumin kieselguhr column chromatography. Out of 17 aminoacyl-sRNA's examined, only one, leucyl-sRNA, was found to be clearly different before and after the infection. This alteration lies in sRNA and not in leueyl-sRNA synthetase, and is one of the earliest events after the infection. Phage T4 and T6 infections show the same modification of leueyl-sRNA, whereas infection with T1, T3, T5 and T7 and λ induction do not induce the modification. Leucyl-sRNA was examined in Shigella dysenteriae 60 and in various strains of E. coli after T2 infection, and in permissive and nonpermissive hosts after infection with various early amber mutants of T4. In all cases, the same modification of the leueyl-sRNA was observed. It is not excluded that the leucyl-sRNA change may take some role in the arrest of host-protein synthesis