[Inactivating effect of o-methylhydroxylamine on phage lambda and its mutants].

The kinetics of inactivation of lambda+, lambda C160, lambda Nsus7, lambda Gsus9, lambda Tsus6 phages under the effect of O-methylhydroxylamine was studied. Inactivation curves of all the phages under study were found to be of a complex character and early in the reaction (up to 4 hours) to deviate from exponential dependence of the inactivation rate upon the time of incubation with the mutagen. All the phages under study showed differences in the inactivation rates early in the reaction. Constants of the inactivation rate in the linear part of the curve vary from 30 hours-1 for lambda+ to 0.14 hours-1 for lambda C160. The possible causes of the complicated pattern of inactivation courves of lambda phage and its mutants are discussed.