Induction of RNA Synthetase in E. coli after Infection by the RNA Phage, MS2

The discovery of the bacteriophage f2 by Loeb and Zinder (1961), followed by the isolation of similar phages such as MS2 (Davis et al., 1961), FH4 and FH5 (Fouace and Huppert, 1962), Ft5 (Knolle and Kaudewitz, 1962), and r17 (Paranchych and Graham, 1962), offered a new approach to the elucidation of the biology and biochemistry of RNA containing viruses. It was soon established that the protein-free bacteriophage RNA was capable, albeit with low efficiency (10-5 to 10-9), of infecting E. coli protoplasts and causing the formation of normal viral progeny (Knolle and Kaudewitz, 1962; Paranchych, 1963). The exciting finding by Nathans et al. (1962) that f2 phage RNA added to an in vitro protein synthesizing system derived from normal, healthy E. coli would lead to the formation of phage specific coat polypeptides proved that this RNA was not only the repository of viral genetic information but that it could serve...