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Accumulation of Guanosine Tetraphosphate in T7 Bacteriophage-Infected Escherichia coli

Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Canada
University Institute of Microbiology, Copenhagen K, Denmark

ABSTRACT

Accumulation of guanosine tetraphosphate (ppGpp) in Escherichia coli strain AS19 valS, carrying a temperature-sensitive valyl-transfer ribonucleic acid synthetase and infected with bacteriophage T7, was studied. Valine starvation was achieved by culturing this strain at 42 C. Addition of rifampin to an uninfected culture at the nonpermissive temperature resulted in loss of accumulated ppGpp; however, cultures infected with phage T7, treated with rifampin, and then shifted to the nonpermissive temperature maintained the ability to accumulate ppGpp. Moreover, treatment of the T7-infected culture with rubidomycin, an antibiotic which inhibits transcription, did not reduce the amount of ppGpp accumulated following shift to the nonpermissive temperature. Measurements of the instantaneous rate of T7 transcription showed that it is not under stringent control of amino acids. ppGpp synthesized in T7-infected E. coli appears to be more stable than its counterpart in an uninfected culture. These results are interpreted to mean that ppGpp production is not directly dependent on transcription and arises instead from inhibition of another reaction, most likely some aspect of translation.