IV. THE MANNER OF THE GRADUAL CHANGE OF GENES 369- 



are endowed with the back-bone structure of the virus. However, in 

 order to act as the virus unstable structure is necessary, which may 

 consist of polar forces that will be liberated by the unfolding of the 

 protoplasm protein. 



The manner of arrangement of these temporal polar forces may 

 be determined by the back-bone structure. In other words, bacterial 

 protoplasm proteins are normally in a partially folded state so that 

 polar forces necessary for the virus action are also enclosed in the 

 folding, but the protein in this folded state can retain its specific 

 pattern which determine the immunological character. In order to 

 produce the virus, however, an appropriate stimulus is necessary 

 whicn can cause the unfolding of the protein. 



Actually it has been proved that after irradiation with ultraviolet 

 light lysogenic B. megatherium shows increased capacity in its res- 

 piration ; the synthesis of desoxyribonucleic acid is blocked during" 

 approximately the first 1/3 of the latent period, but rapid synthesis 

 then commences and continues until the moment of lysis (57). 



When the virus is produced the bacterium is always bound to 

 undergo lysis. This fact may be interpreted as due to the virus 

 action itself. In the opinion of the writer, however, lysis has no- 

 concern with the virus. Polar forces liberated by the unfolding of 

 the polypeptide chain may subsequently combine with great quantities 

 of water molecules leading to the quelling of the bacterial body and 

 accordingly to the dissociation of elementary bodies, thus resulting- 

 in the lysis of the bacteria. The bacterial lysis due to phage is also- 

 attributable to the liberation of polar forces attracting water mole- 

 cules ; the stimulus given by the virus may cause the unfolding of 

 the peptide chain. 



The phages released upon lysis of bacteria infected with a cofactor- 

 requiring strain possess a nascent activity, which makes possible their 

 adsorption in cofactor-free medium. It has been shown that this 

 nascent activity is lost gradually, indicating the temporary liberation 

 during lysis of active group which enables the phages to combine 

 with the bacteria without cofactor (58j. 



Many evidences are known that lysis can occur without producing 

 any virus. According to the writer's view, any bacteria can produce 

 virus which affects other bacteria having weaker patterns. However,, 

 if the bacteria cannot liberate the free active group, no virus would 

 be produced. Lysogeny may therefore be no more than the bacterial 

 character of unfolding the peptide chain readily. Usually the irradia- 

 tion of lysogenic bacteria with ultraviolet ray is followed by Ij'sis 

 and by phage formation, but the bacteria would undergo no lysis 

 when they became non-lysogenic, showing that lysogeny is nothing: 



