Bacteriophages of Bacillus subtilis.

Hemphill, H E; Whiteley, H. R.

doi:10.1128/mmbr.39.3.257-315.1975

Cited by 121 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 267 publications

(493 reference statements)

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“…A wild temperate phage, TH</>, and a virulent mutant ofthe well-knownB. subti/isphage SP10, called SP10C (Hemphill and Whiteley 1975), were used in the present study. Use of a wild phage guards against modification of the biology of the phage, e.g., inadvertent selection for higher replication rate or enhanced virulence, during extended 1aboratory propagation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population Dynamics of Bacteriophage and Bacillus Subtilis in Soil

Pantastico-Caldas

Duncan

Istock

et al. 1992

Ecology

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The dynamics of the interaction of populations of Bacillus subtilis and a temperate bacteriophage in soil microorganisms were examined. The purpose of the study was to investigate these dynamics in a structured habitat approaching that of their natural habitat in soil, in contrast to previous investigations in broth or chemostats. We addressed three main questions. What are the population dynamics of a phage—bacteria interaction in soil? What role might the heterogeneity of the soil play in shaping the interaction? Are the dynamics controlled more by the population biology of the phage or of the bacteria? The phage used was isolated from Arizona desert soil in which B. subtilis is common. Phage and bacteria were grown separately or together in sterile soil microcosms consisting of autoclaved soil rich in organic material. Densities of phage and bacteria were estimated through repeated sterile sampling of the microcosms by spreading precise dilutions of sampled soil suspensions onto plates of microbiological media. The plates for estimation of phage densities contained in addition a lawn of host bacteria. While the principal focus is on temperate phage ecology, the dynamics of a single example of interaction between B. subtilis and virulent phage is also presented. In all cases an initial epidemic of phage occurred, followed by stable equilibria lasting weeks to months. A threshold host density for phage outbreak occurs at °5 x 106 colony—forming units per gram of soil. At equilibrium the phage, both temperate and virulent, were much less abundant than the bacteria. The temperate phage did not depress the equilibrium host density, while the virulent phage lowered it by a factor of ten. The acidic soil of these experiments caused rapid and permanent inactivation of free phage, making the continuous interaction of phage and host essential for persistence of phage. Low levels of phage resistance (superimmunity or genetic) were typical of host populations. Most properties of the interaction between B. subtilis and phage in soil are quite different from those observed with chemostat populations of Escherichia coli and virulent phages. Potential doubling times and rates of increase in soil for phage and B. subtilis were calculated. At equilibrium, soil slows the interaction of phage and host relative to population growth in broth culture, and possibly also makes it heterogeneous in space and time. The life—history features of B. subtilis and temperate phage are considerably more complex than those of non—sporeforming bacteria and virulent phage. The biotic relationship of temperate phage and host may be distinct from predation or parasitism. Patterns in the ecology and evolution of temperate and virulent phage were explored, leading to the expectation that temperate forms will be more common among the phages of soil bacteria.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population Dynamics of Bacteriophage and Bacillus Subtilis in Soil

Pantastico-Caldas

Duncan

Istock

et al. 1992

Ecology

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“…Bacteriophage-mediated interspecific genetic transfer in the genus Bacillus has traditionally been done with generalized transducing bacteriophages such as PBS1 (7,10,11,17), SP-10, SP-15 (18), and CP-51 (15,19). This paper reports the use of SP02, a temperate bacteriophage which productively infects Bacillus subtilis 168, as a vector for the interspecific transfer of plasmid DNA.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The host range of bacteriophage SP02 encompasses B. subtilis 168 and B. subtilis 3610; much lower efficiencies of plaquing have been reported for strains of B. licheniformis and B. pumilus (2,7). Such host range determinations classically employ plaque assays which demand that the bacteriophage go through its entire lytic cycle.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Characterization of interspecific plasmid transfer mediated by Bacillus subtilis temperate bacteriophage SP02

Marrero¹,

Young²,

Yasbin³

1984

J Bacteriol

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Plasmid pPL1010 is a 7.0-kilobase derivatiVe of plasmid pUB110 that harbors the cohesive end site of the bacteriophage SP02 genome. Plasmid pPL1017 is a 6.8-kilobase derivative of plasmid pC194 that contains the immunity region of bacteriophage 4105 and the cohesive end site of bacteriophage SP02. These plasmids are transducible by bacteriophage SP02 at a frequency of 10-2 transductants per PFU among mutant derivatives of Bacillus subtilis 168 and have been transferred to other strains of B. subtilis and B. amyloliquefaciens by means of bacteriophage SP02-mediated transduction, with frequencies ranging from 10to 10-7 transductants per PFU. The introduced plasmids were stably maintained in nearly all new hosts in the absence of selective pressure. An exception was found in B. subtilis DSM704, which also harbored three cryptic plasmids. Plasmids pPL1010 and pPL1017 were incompatible with a 7.9-kilobase replicon native to strain DSM704. Furthermore, plasmid pPL1017 was processed by strain DSM704 into a -5.3-kilobase replicon that was compatible with the resident plasmid content of strain DSM704. The use of bacteriophage SP02-mediated plasmid transduction has allowed the identification of Bacillus strains that are susceptible to bacteriophage SP02-mediated genetic transfer but cannot support bacteriophage SP02 lytic infection.

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“…The teichoic acid-peptidoglycan complexes of B. subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pyogenes (5,6,22) were found to have receptors for several bacteriophages. A detailed study of the role of teichoic acid in the adsorption of bacteriophage SP5O in B. subtilis was carried out recently with cells grown under conditions of phosphate limitation (1,2).…”

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Choline-containing bacteriophage receptors in Streptococcus pneumoniae

López¹,

Garcı́a²,

Garcı́a³

et al. 1982

J Bacteriol

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Choline-containing teichoic acid seems to be essential for the adsorption of bacteriophage Dp-1 to pneumococci. This conclusion is based on the following observations: In contrast to pneumococci grown in choline-containing medium, cells grown in medium pontaining ethanolamine or other submethylated aminoalcohols instead of choline were found to be resistant to infection by Dp-1. Live choline-grown bacteria and heator UV-inactivated cells and purified cell walls prepared from these cells were capable of adsorbing phage Dp-1; ethanolaminegrown pneumococci or cell wall preparations were unable to do so. Adsorption of Dp-1 to choline-containing cell walls was competitively inhibited by phosphorylcholine and by several choline-containing soluble cell surface components, such as the Forssman antigen and the teichoic acid-glycan complexes formed by autolytic cell wall degradation. Cell walls prepared from pneumococci grown in ethanolamine or phosphorylethanolamine were inactive. Electron microscopic studies with pneumococci that had segments of choline-containing cell wall material amid ethanolamine-containing regions indicated that the Dp-1 phage particles adsorbed exclusively to the choline-containing surface areas. We suggest that the choline residues of the pneumococcal teichoic acid are essential components of the Dp-1 phage receptors in this bacterium.The first step in bacteriophage infection is the adsorption of phage particles to surface receptors of the host cells. A wide variety of bacterial structures and compounds can serve as receptors, e.g., capsules, pili, flagella, peptidoglycan, teichoic acid, etc. (for reviews, see references 10, 11, and 15). Much information is available about phage receptors in Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, and Bacillus subtilis (9, 23, 24).The teichoic acid-peptidoglycan complexes of B. subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pyogenes (5, 6, 22) were found to have receptors for several bacteriophages. A detailed study of the role of teichoic acid in the adsorption of bacteriophage SP5O in B. subtilis was carried out recently with cells grown under conditions of phosphate limitation (1,2). This approach also demonstrated the usefulness of bacteriophage as a marker for cell wall growth.In the present paper we describe experiments that indicate the importance of choline residues of the teichoic acid of pneumococci for the adsorption of the pneumococcal phage Dp-1. Electron microscopic studies of phage adsorption sites allowed us to confirm and extend the model for the mode of cell wall growth and segregation previously suggested for Streptococcus pneumoniae by different methodologies (3). MATERIALS AND METHODS Microorganisms. Streptococcus pneumoniae R6, a derivative of the Rockefeller University Laboratory strain R36A, was used as the wild-type strain. Bacteria with teichoic acids containing the various amino alcohol residues (such as choline, ethanolamine [EA], Nmonomethylaminoethanolamine [MEA], or N-dimethylaminoethanolamine [DEA]) were produced by growth for...

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Bacteriophages of Bacillus subtilis.

Cited by 121 publications

References 267 publications

Population Dynamics of Bacteriophage and Bacillus Subtilis in Soil

Population Dynamics of Bacteriophage and Bacillus Subtilis in Soil

Characterization of interspecific plasmid transfer mediated by Bacillus subtilis temperate bacteriophage SP02

Choline-containing bacteriophage receptors in Streptococcus pneumoniae

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