Question

Suppose you had a strain of E. coli that has a nonsense mutation that renders the ftsH gene nonfunctional. What is the outcome of phage lambda infection in this strain? Explain.

Answer 1

The common function of ftsH protein that is secreted by E.coli when a phage lambda infection occurs is the cleavage of the CII protein of the phage lambds thereby initiating the lytic cycle in the lambda phage. If there is a nonsense mutation in this ftsH gene, then this CII degradation wont happen after phage lambda infection and hence the phage will undergo lysogenic cycle in the E.coli.

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