Complementation of the lytD1 mutation of Escherichia coli by either the cI or cro gene of bacteriophage lambda.

The lytD1 mutant of Escherichia coli exhibits temperature-sensitive growth which is attributed to cellular autolysis at the restrictive temperature. Either of two cloned phage lambda genes, identified as cI and cro, suppressed the lytD1(Ts) lysis phenotype, suggesting that lytD encodes a DNA-binding protein with a DNA-binding specificity similar to that of CI and Cro. LytD may be a repressor of a gene(s) involved in cellular autolysis.