Temperate Bacillus bacteriophage SP16 genome is circularly permuted and terminally redundant.

The physical nature of temperate Bacillus bacteriophage SP16 DNA was analyzed by electron microscopy, exonuclease digestion, denaturation-renaturation experiments, and restriction enzyme analysis. The SP16 genome is a linear molecule 60.0 +/- 2.0 kilobases in length without cohesive ends. Electron micrographs of denatured and renatured SP16 DNA showed that the DNA is circularly permuted. The genome possesses terminal redundancy, as demonstrated by electron microscopy of exonuclease III-digested DNA.