This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Scholl, D R Articles by Jollick, J D Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Scholl, D R Articles by Jollick, J D

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

J Virol. 1980 September; 35(3): 949-954

Pilus-dependent, double-stranded DNA bacteriophage for Caulobacter.

D R Scholl and J D Jollick

ABSTRACT

Caulobacter phage phi 6, previously reported to adsorb specifically to bacterial flagella, was shown here to attach to pili more frequently than to flagella. Phage phi 6 was shown to contain double-stranded DNA by circular dichroism spectroscopy and thermal denaturation accompanied by a hyperchromic shift at 260 nm. Morphologically, phage phi 6 fits group B2 (H.-W. Ackermann, in A. I. Laskin and H. A. Lechevalier, ed., Handbook of Microbiology, vol. 1, p. 638-643, 1973) with a long, noncontractile tail and an elongate head. Pilus-less mutants of the host Caulobacter vibrioides CV6 are phage phi 6 resistant, whereas flagellum-less mutants, which produce pili, are phage susceptible. Treatments of susceptible cells which remove or immobilize pili and flagella, e.g., blending or cyanide, inhibited phage phi 6 infection. Our evidence suggests that phage of phi 6 initiates infection in a manner similar to the pilus-specific phages for Pseudomonas described previously (D. E. Bradley, Virology 51:489-492, 1973; D. E. Bradley and T. L. Pitt, J. Gen. Virol. 24:1-15, 1974).

---

J Virol. 1980 September; 35(3): 949-954