SPONTANEOUS LYSIS AND PHAGE-CARRIER STATE IN BRUCELLA CULTURES

Abstract

Renoux, Gerard (Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France), and Andree Suire . Spontaneous lysis and phage-carrier state in Brucella cultures. J. Bacteriol. 86: 642–647. 1963.—When broth or saline suspensions of 60 randomly chosen Brucella strains were directly poured onto plates of Albimi Agar, distinct plaques, indicative of phage activity, developed. Unselected Brucella cultures containing cell types that gave rise to several morphologically distinct colonial types all proved to be naturally phage-infected. Selection and study of some of these colonial types led to the following conclusions: (i) S or SI colonies do not carry the phage and are sensitive to it; (ii) pure R colonies are phage-resistant and do not carry the phage; (iii) butyrous or sticky white P (“Porteuses”) colonies develop from “carrier cells” resistant to phage; and (iv) the progeny of cells of the P colony type segregate into cells that give rise to P, S, or SI colonies. However, when plates were streaked with a cotton swab soaked in the Brucella suspension, no visible plaque developed. The phenotypic changes occurring after phage infection are believed to play a role also under natural conditions; they are able to explain most of the natural behavior of Brucella . Their occurrence, however, does not exclude other genetic mechanisms that may produce similar phenotypic effects.

Section E. Diseases of dairy cattle. Brucellosis

“…Ostrovskaya (1961a) demonstrated phage in 126 of 197 brucella cultures but pointed out that the phages were only weakly virulent and their lytic effect could only be seen on solid media; not all the phages could be passaged. Similar phage isolations have been reported by Lazuga & Renoux (1960), Parnas (1963a), Lazuga (1962) and Renoux & Suire (1963). Renoux & Suire showed that 60 unselected brucella cultures (representing Brucella abortus, melitensis suis and intermedia) and containing cell types which gave rise to several morphologically distinct colonial types, were all naturally infected with phage.…”

“…abortus and melitensis were used by Aleksandrov et al (1961) and soluble immunogenic antigen, which was liberated into the medium during the log death phase of growth, by Allen (1961). Suire (1960) reported good protection in mice using Br. abortus Strain B112 plus cell-wall extracts of Br.…”

Intracellular Production of Brucella L Forms II. Induction and Survival of Brucella abortus L Forms in Tissue Culture

“…Lysozyme and glycine have been used to induce L-form production in artificial media (21,14), and it has been reported that glycine and a lysozyme-like substance from rabbit monocytes inhibited intracellular Brucella organisms (17, 18). Another possible mechanism of L-form induction is implied by studies in which a bacteriophage has been found in recently isolated B. abortus strains (15,16,19). The bacteriophage was described as weakly lytic, and it was noted that the lysogenic bacteria produced atypical colonies.…”

Autoplaquing in Neisseria gonorrhoeae

“…This phenomenon has been described in several genera of bacteria, including Myxococcus spp. (7), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (5), Rhizobium trifolii (2), Brucella abortus (19), and Yersinia enterocolitica (J. M. Fowler, A. K. Sample, and R. R. Brubaker, Abstr. Annu.…”

“…In general, the mechanisms responsible are ill defined and appear to be diverse. Proposed explanations for the phenomenon range from a lysogenic phage (19) to a derangement in the autolytic system (7). Recently, Fowler et al (Abstr.…”