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. 1995 Mar;139(3):1107–1121. doi: 10.1093/genetics/139.3.1107

On the Clustered Exchanges of the Recbcd Pathway Operating on Phage λ

F W Stahl 1, C E Shurvinton 1, L C Thomason 1, S Hill 1, M M Stahl 1
PMCID: PMC1206444  PMID: 7768427

Abstract

Lytic cycle crosses of Red(-) Gam(-) phage λ were conducted in rec(+) Escherichia coli carrying one or another plasmid with homology to λ. λ X λ recombinants and λ X plasmid recombinants were formed by RecBCD-mediated recombination. We showed previously that the act of recombining with a plasmid alters the disposition of selected λ X λ exchanges. This work reports that the relationships between the λ X plasmid and the λ X λ exchanges is unaltered by the removal from one λ parent of the homology shared with the plasmid. This result supports our view that a reciprocal exchange, allowing for cointegrate formation, is associated with but mechanistically separable from a (presumably) nonreciprocal λ X λ exchange. The nature of this relationship is independent of λ's Rap function, which is shown to alter the ratio of cointegrate formation (splices) to marker pick-up (patches) in λ X plasmid recombination mediated by the RecBCD pathway.

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Selected References

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