Specialized transduction of the ilvD-thyB-ilvA region mediated by Bacillus subtilis bacteriophage SP beta

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Abstract
Specialized transducing SP.beta. particles were found that carried the B. subtilis genes lying to the left of the prophage attachment site. Three classes of transducing particles were differentiated, depending on whether they carried ilvA only, thyB and ilvA, or ilvD, thyB, and ilvA. Lysates prepared by the induction of strains that carried both a transducing phage and plaque-forming phage contained the 2 particles in a ratio of .apprx. 1:3000. When the transducing particles were used to transduce a phage-sensitive auxotrophic strain to phototrophy, some of the transductants carried only the transducing phage genomes which, by themselves, were defective. One putative nondefective transducing phage (for ilvA only) is also described. SP.beta. can mediate specialized transduction even in the absence of the major (recE) bacterial recombination system.