Strains of Escherichia coli K-12 containing the colicin Ib (Col Ib) factor did not produce progeny phage when infected by T5 bacteriophage. The cells were killed but did not lyse. If sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was added to T5-infected E. coli (Col Ib), lysis occurred prematurely, but no phage were produced. SDS had no effect on infected cells that did not contain the Col Ib factor or on uninfected cells with or without the Col Ib factor. Cells that contained a mutant Col Ib factor that allowed phage production were not prematurely lysed after infection in the presence of SDS. When the Col Ib-containing cells were infected, protein and RNA synthesis stopped at about 10 min postinfection, and the cells released abnormal amounts of 32P-containing material, ATP, and beta-galactosidase into the medium. They also became inhibited in their ability to accumulate thiomethyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside and to utilize glycerol. Two alternative hypotheses are presented to explain these results.