Phenotypic Expression of a Genetic Property Introduced by Deoxyribonucleate

The time course of the appearance of cells showing a new phenotype, following treatment with a specific DNA, has been analyzed. A plot as a function of time of the number of cells showing the new property closely resembles the summation under a normal distribution curve. Describing the appearance of the new phenotype in these terms permits the definition of two parameters, the mean time, and the standard deviation of the distribution curve. This distribution is not affected either by the DNA concentration with which the transformable population has been treated, or by the streptomycin concentration with which the transformed population has been challenged. Interruptions of the expression process, by cooling to 20 degrees or 0 degrees C., serve only to displace the expression curves, without changing their shape, while small reductions in temperature change both the mean time of expression and the standard deviation of the distribution curve. On the basis of these observations a number of hypotheses have been examined concerning the mechanism whereby transforming DNA manifests a phenotypic alteration in the transformed cells. It can be concluded that there exist at least two stages in the process of expression. The completion of the first stage, causing the randomization, occurs with a mean time of about 60 minutes, and a terminal step, that of the transition of phenotype, occurs in less than 3 minutes.