THE EARLY GENE REGION COMPLETES THE NUCLEOTIDE-SEQUENCE OF LACTOBACILLUS-DELBRUECKII SUBSP LACTIS PHAGE LL-H

Transcription of genes from phage LL-H can be divided into an early ph ase and a late phase. The early gene region was located in a 5.9-kb se gment of the phage LL-H genome and it was part of the sequence that co mpleted the phage LL-H genome sequence, 34 659 bp in size. Phage LL-H is the first completely sequenced Lactobacillus phage. In the main cod ing strand of phage LL-H genome 48 putative ORFs could be detected, bu t only four small putative ORFs could be found in the opposite strand. The ORFs covered 85.6% of the main coding strand Function could be as signed to eleven of the phage LL-H ORFs either by biochemical analyses or by database homologies. A single-strand-binding protein, SSB, was detected in addition to the previously determined functions (small and large subunits of terminase, intron-encoded endonuclease, six structu ral proteins, phage lysin). For 15 additional ORFs of phage LL-H homol ogy was detected in databases, but no function could be inferred for t hem.