Behavior of a temperate bacteriophage in differentiating cells of Bacillus subtilis

Abstract

During the first 6 h of sporulation, infection ofBacillus subtilis by ¢105 wild type or the clear-plaque mutant 0105 c30 was nonproductive, but phage DNA was trapped inside developing spores. After infection with either wild-type or mutant phage at early times of sporulation (T,-T3), phage DNA entered the

Early-blocked asporogenous mutants of Bacillus subtilis are lysogenized at reduced frequency by temperate bacteriophages

“…These 4)105 lysogens were stable on repeated purification, and the titer offree phage in these lysogenic cultures was as low as in the culture of the lysogen of the wild-type strain (Table 4). That strain 168(4)105) is stable is consistent with the results reported by Birdsell et al (2) and Osburne and Sonenshein (25).…”

“…Virulent phage infection has been used to investigate the control mechanisms associated with sporulation (16,36,39,41). Recently, Osburne and Sonenshein reported (25) the behavior of a temperate phage (4i105) in sporulating cells of B. subtilis. Our studies are concemed with the behavior of two temperate phages, 4105 (2) and SPO2 (24,28), in the vegetative cells of asporogenous mutant strains of B. subtilis.…”

Beyond arbitrium: identification of a second communication system in Bacillus phage phi3T that may regulate host defense mechanisms

“…At low densities of the Bacillus subpopulation that either expresses the cloned rapBA3 or rapBA5 receptors, the Rap protein was experimentally demonstrated to strongly inhibit the Spo0F-P and ComA-P response regulators [5]. The Spo0F-P pathway leads to biofilm formation or sporulation [13,14], shown to elicit the lytic cycle of certain bacteriophages [15,16]. The ComA-P pathway triggers competence and the production of antimicrobials [17] that might contribute to the defense against phages.…”

Thermoinducible transcription system for Bacillus subtilis that utilizes control elements from temperate phage phi 105

“…Strains, phage, and plasmids are listed, with their relevant properties, in Table 1. Growth of +105, preparation of phage stocks, and isolation of lysogens. Conditions for phage growth, phage stock preparation, and lysogen isolation have been described previously (21). To determine the immunity of a bacterial host to 4105, the clear-plaque mutant 4105 c30 was cross streaked against the bacterial host on LB or Difco Sporulation Medium plates containing the appropriate antibiotic.…”