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. 1969 Feb;3(2):164–170. doi: 10.1128/jvi.3.2.164-170.1969

Biological Activity of 5-Hydroxymethyluracil and Its Deoxynucleoside in Noninfected and Phageinfected Bacillus subtilis

Mutsuko Nishihara 1,1, Norman Friedman 1, H Vasken Aposhian 1
PMCID: PMC375747  PMID: 4975365

Abstract

14C-hydroxymethyldeoxyuridine (dHMU) is specifically incorporated into the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of bacteriophage SP8. Incorporation experiments demonstrate that the initiation of phage SP8 DNA synthesis occurs between 12.5 to 15 min after infection. Incorporation into host DNA does not occur. 14C-dHMU can be used as an analytical tool for screening conditionally lethal phage mutants containing hydroxymethyluracil in their DNA to select those that are defective in DNA synthesis under restrictive conditions. The pyrimidine, 14C-hydroxymethyluracil (HMU), is not incorporated into bacterial or phage DNA. Neither HMU nor dHMU can replace thymine as a growth requirement for Bacillus subtilis 168 Ind Thy. HMU does not inhibit the utilization of thymine. Although dHMU inhibits deoxythymidine utilization, the inhibition is not competitive.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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