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Abstract
Four Agrobacterium tumefaciens temperate phages (PB2A, PB6(Ω), PV-1(LV-1) and PS8) were shown to have the same genome size. Moreover hybridization experiments by the heteroduplex method and electron microscopy showed a 100% homology between these four phage genomes. Indications for lysogeny were found by direct means for the Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain 396, Agrobacterium radiobacter strain 8149 and Agrobacterium species 0362 and by the electron microscope negative staining technique for the A. tumefaciens strains B6-806, B6-6, B6S3, B2AS, CV-1, 4452, 11156, 11158, 396 and 925; for A. radiobacter strains TR-1 and 8149, the latter being bi-lysogenic, and for the A. species 0362. These isolated phage particles, most of which appear to be defective, could be grouped into different classes. No particles could be detected in the lysates of A. tumefaciens RV3, A. radiobacter strains 4718 and S1005, and A. species 0363.
Further characterization by genome size was carried out for the defective temperate phages PB6-806, P4452, P814911 and P0362. No evidence for homology between PB6-806 and PB6(Ω) could be found. The defective phages PB6-806 and P4452 showed the same morphology but a different genome size, whereas the two phages P0362 and P814911 had a very different morphology and genome size.
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