Isotope Effects on the Morphology of Fully Deuterated Bacteriophage T₂

Abstract

CONSIDERABLE changes in the isotopic composition of living organisms may result in gross changes in the structure of cells and organelles¹. The morphological changes attendant on isotopic substitution have a special interest, because the isotopically altered organisms are viable and biologically competent; and, as a consequence, correlations between structure and function become possible. Thus, for example, the chloroplasts of fully deuterated green algae² are observed under the electron microscope to be markedly different from those of the prototype organism although the deuterated algae are fully capable of photosynthesis. Because deuterated bacteriophage have been found useful in genetic³ and biochemical⁴ investigations, we have now fully examined deuterated phage by electron microscopy to determine the morphological consequences of deuteration on a virus.