Synthesis of phage-specific alpha- and beta-glucosyl transferases directed by T-even DNA in vitro.

-Bacteriophage T4 DNA, when added to a ribonucleic acid- and protein-synthesizing system from uninfected Escherichia coli, directed the in vitro synthesis of virus-specific glucosyl transferases. The T4-specific alpha- and beta-glucosyl transferases are synthesized in vivo early after infection, and function to glucosylate the hydroxymethylcytosine residues of phage DNA. The in vitro glucosyl transferase synthesis was dependent upon transcription of T4 DNA, as well as upon protein synthesis. DNA from T4 mutants unable to induce glucosyl transerases failed to induce enzyme formation in vitro, although protein synthesis was unimpaired.