[Intragenome heterogeneity of the temperate bacteriophage ZF40 Erwinia carotovora].

It has been shown that the temperate bacteriophage ZF40 Erwinia carotovora combines in it two kinds of intragenome heterogeneity--cyclic permutation and cohesive end structures. The latter reassociate more quickly than analogous cos-sites of the phage lambda Escherichia coli. A series of clear-mutants was found after the temperature inactivation of the phage particles; they are the components of the complementation group being involved in the repressor gene. One of the mutants, ZF40c(5/5), was identified as the virulent one. It has been established that the character of mutation in temperature clear-mutants changes towards its discreteness. Due to the uniqueness of the intragenome organization the molecular-genetic investigations of the processes of replication, site-specific recombination and packing of DNA of the phage ZF40 E. carotovora are of great scientific interest.