Thermal Chromatography of DNA-DNA Reactions

Genetic relationships among bacteriophages and bacteria have been investigated using an extension of the DNA-agar technique. Thermal elution profiles, each characteristic of a specific DNA-DNA reaction, have been obtained from reactions involving homologous and heterologous DNAs. A sizable portion of the DNA of lysogenic (or semilysogenic DNA) viruses has been shown to be homologous to the DNA of their bacterial hosts. These homologies are contained in numerous sequences throughout the viral DNAs. Furthermore, DNA homologies exist among most temperate phage DNAs as well as with their respective hosts.