Question

What’s the function of the nuclease gene that’s found in the genome of bacteriophage?

Answer 1

The genome of bacteriophage is not produced as individual entities of complete set of genome instead they produces a long concatamer that contains several copies of phage genome linked from head to tail. Here nuclease comes to play its role. Nuclease cleave the concatamer at specific site known as cos site to produce the multiple single set of genome which gets pack into protein coat to make complete virion.

If nuclease gene is mutated the phage can not package its DNA that prevents its replication in bacteria.