Index >> Bacteriophages - Part One >> Breakdown Of The Bacterial Chromosome

Breakdown of The Bacterial Chromosome - The bacterial chromosome undergoes breakdown soon after infection. Three types of reactions, unfolding, disruption and degradation, appear to be involved in this breakdown. These reactions appear to be independent processes.

(i) Unfolding. The chromosome undergoes ‘unfolding' and loses its compactness. The unfolding is the result of relaxation of the superhelical twists. T4 unf mutants are defective in the unfolding of the host cell nucleoid.

(iii) Degradation. The DNA is cleaved by an endonuclease to small fragments that are further broken down by another nuclease into acid soluble fragments.