Bacillus subtilis DNA polymerase III is required for the replication of DNA of bacteriophages SPP-1 and phi 105

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Abstract
The replication of the B. subtilis bacteriophages SPP-1 and .vphi.105 is sensitive to 6-(p-hydroxyphenylazo)-uracil (HPUra), a selective inhibitor of replicative DNA synthesis of B. subtilis which acts specifically at the level of a replication-specific polymerase, DNA polymerase III (pol III). The origin of the HPUra-sensitive polymerase required for phage replication was examined by comparison of the drug sensitivity of phage development in a normosensitive host with that in a host carrying azp-12, a polC mutation that specifies production of an HPUra-resistant pol III. The azp-12 specified HPUra-resistant phage development, clearly indicating that SPP-1 and .vphi.105 replication requires the host pol III. The host pol III requirement for SPP-1 replication also was confirmed by the demonstration that phage development was temperature sensitive in a host carrying the polC mutation mut-1 (ts). Examination of the pol III activity of crude and purified cell-free preparations derived from phage-infected cells did not indicate any detectable changes in the specific activity, purification behavior or drug sensitivity of the enzyme.