T2 Phage Sensitization by Linear and Angular Furocoumarins

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
T2 bacteriophage sensitization was studied using 2 furocoumarins capable of linking covalently to DNA to the same extent but producing different damages, i.e., psoralen and 4,5''-dimethylangelicin. Psoralen is a well-known linear furocoumarin capable of inducing in DNA both monoadducts and cross-links; 4,5''-dimethylangelicin is a new angular compound known as a pure monofunctional reagent. In the sensitization of T2 mature virions, both drugs proved very active, yielding survival curves practically superimposable; on the contrary, in the experiments with the T2 vegetative form, i.e., with its DNA inside the host, 4,5''-dimethylangelicin was much less effective, resembling the picture observed in the inactivation of the host bacteria to be. This result did not appear related to the enhancement of DNA repair by the Weigle effect. The differential killing activity of 4,5''-dimethylangelicin can be explained assuming that this drug is capable of inducing cross-links in T2 DNA inside the virus core, in which it exists in a highly folded form, but not in the same DNA after injection into the host bacteria.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: