ABSTRACT
The product of gene 32 has been shows to be involve in T4 Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) replication, molecular and genetic recombination, and the repair of ultraviolet light induced damage in T4 DNA. The protein might simply bind to and protect regions of single–stranded DNA (ssDNA) which are transiently produced during the processes of replication, recombination, and repair. A protein that tightly bound ssDNA is absent from lysates of cells infected with a nonsense mutant of gene 32 and present in all other mutant infections tested. The temperature sensitive mutations map within the first one–third of the protein. The aminoterminal region and the carboxyterminal region are each primarily alpha–helical. Additional experiments showed a decrease in the amount of single–stranded DNA in gene 32 mutant infections compared to wild type infections. The most important functions of gp32 are facilitation of strand displacement, stimulation of lagging strand synthesis, and protection of ssDNA against nucleolytic attack.
