Use of a biotinylated DNA probe to detect bacteria transduced by bacteriophage P1 in soil

Presumptive bacteriophage P1 transductants of Escherichia coli, isolated from soil inoculated with lysates of transducing phage P1 and E. coli, were confirmed to be lysogenic for phage P1 by hybridization with a biotinylated DNA probe prepared from the 1.2-kilobase-pair HindIII 3 fragment of bacteriophage P1. No P1 lysogens of indigenous soil bacteria were detected with the DNA probe. The sensitivity and specificity of the DNA probe were assessed with purified and dot blot DNA, respectively. In addition, two techniques for the lysis and deproteinization of bacteria and bacteriophages on nitrocellulose filters were compared. These studies indicated that biotinylated DNA probes may be an effective alternative to conventional radiolabeled DNA probes for detecting specific gene sequences in bacteria indigenous to or introduced into soil.