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Phosphatidylethanolamine is the only phosphatide present in purified bacteriophage PM2 when obtained from bacteria grown and infected in minimal medium. The growth cycle of bacteriophage PM2 shows the basic general features described for virulent bacteriophages. PM2 infection of Pseudomonas BAL-31 causes a pronounced increase in deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis, but no detectable effect on the incorporation of phosphorus into lipid. When 32 P-prelabeled bacteria are infected with PM2, the specific activity of the phosphatide phosphorus in the virus is almost the same as that in the host bacteria labeled before infection. It is concluded that the viral phosphatide is not synthesized de novo after infection, but it probably is derived from preexisting cellular phosphatidylethanolamine.

Procedures are described for the isolation in pure form of the bacterial virus PM2. This virus isolated from seawater is shown to contain lipids by its sensitivity to ethyl ether and by chemical analysis of the purified virus. The virus has a buoyant density in CsCl of 1.28 g cm −3 and a sedimentation constant in 1 M NaCl of 230 S ; it contains 14% by weight of DNA and a minimum of 10% by weight of lipids. Phosphatidylethanolamine is the main lipid present in weight percent. The virus is disrupted in 0.05% Sarkosyl or sodium dodecyl sulfate. Analysis in acrylamide gel electrophoresis indicates the presence in the virus of at least two proteins, probably lipoproteins since they can be stained with Black Sudan. The virus appears to be a polyhedral object 60 mμ in diameter; the coat seems to have an unusual structure, in that an apparent double-layered wall can be observed in the electron microscope.

A marine bacterium, which acts as host for bacteriophage PM2 isolated from the same environment, has been characterized as a Pseudomonas species. This Pseudomonas cannot be assigned to any of the subgeneric categories or “groups” described by Stanier, Palleroni, and Doudoroff. The psychrophilic and halophilic nature of the organism and its requirement for NaCl suggest an indigenous marine origin.