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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2012 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Mol Biol. 2011 May 5;410(1):50–59. doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2011.04.070

Figure 4.

Figure 4

DNA packaging assayed by sucrose gradient centrifugation. Wild-type particles (a, filled symbol) or particles containing the mutation triple-A (b) or the loop deletion (c) were added to the packaging system containing [3H]DNA. After incubation, the unpackaged DNA was digested with DNase, and the reaction assayed for packaging by sedimentation in a 5–20% sucrose gradient. Sedimentation is from right to left. Filled heads sediment at fraction 2–4 and unpackaged DNA is found at fraction 19. The peak at fractions 16–17 is from DNA that escaped from the packaged head early in centrifugation. The open symbols represent the addition of γ-S-ATP in the gradients and in the reaction to stall the packaging motor prior to centrifugation.