Achromobacter sp. 2 Phage {alpha}3: A Physical Characterization

Phage α3 had a buoyant density of 1#x00B7;506 g/ml, suggesting a protein capsid. The mol. wt. of the phage genome was 34 ± 1 x 10⁶. A dual genome population was observed and partial denaturation, duplex and restriction analyses facilitated distinction between constituent phages, α3τ and α3ω. Phage α3τ exhibited a 0.7 ± 0#x00B7;2 x 10⁶ mol. wt. deletion in its genome with respect to α3ω. Both phages were encapsulated by a headful mechanism and the genomes were permuted over 27% and <18% of their length respectively. It is concluded that stable variants may be isolated and that these phages offer potential, through physical studies, to elucidate the properties of the Achromobacter-α3 system.