The formation of blender-resistant complexes signifying the complete penetration of PL-1 phage genomes into the host cells, Lactobacillus caseiatcc27092, was studied in a tris-maleate buffer using the technique of blending described by Hershey & Chase (1952). The process was not affected much by the age of the cells, but it was greatly inhibited when the cells had been previously starved. The process was dependent on the temperature, and therefore it was considered to be an energy-requiring process. Apparent activation energy (µ) was calculated to be about 8.3 kcal. The process which had been first inhibited at 0 °C was recovered at any time when the temperature was raised to 37 °C. Among the metabolic inhibitors tested, 10 mm-arsenate inhibited the process selectively without affecting either the infectivity of phage particles or the viability of the cells. On the contrary, cyanide, azide, arsenite, monofluoroacetate, dinitrophenol, pentachlorophenol, dicumarol, chloramphenicol and gramicidin S did not exhibit such a selective inhibition.
The significance of the active metabolism of the cells for the mechanism of phage genome penetration is discussed.
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