Characterization of an Acholeplasma laidlawii variant with a REP- phenotype.

An Acholeplasma laidlawii variant has been isolated that has a REP- phenotype. The properties of this variant, relative to parental cells, are: (i) it exhibits no change in cell growth kinetics; (ii) it does not propagate single-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) mycoplasmaviruses but does propagate double-stranded DNA mycoplasmaviruses; (iii) it converts parental circular single-stranded mycoplasmavirus DNA to double-stranded replicative forms that are not replicated further; (iv) it exhibits no change in host modification and restriction; and (v) it has an increased ultraviolet light sensitivity. The REP- isolate is the first stable mycoplasma variant to which a physiological defect has been attributed.