EPISOME-MEDIATED TRANSFER OF DRUG RESISTANCE IN ENTEROBACTERIACEAE. VII. TWO TYPES OF NATURALLY OCCURRING R FACTORS

Watanabe, Tsutomu (Keio University, Tokyo, Japan), Hiroshi Nishida, Chizuko Ogata, Toshihiko Arai, and Sachiko Sato. Episome-mediated transfer of drug resistance in Enterobacteriaceae. VII. Two types of naturally occurring R factors. J. Bacteriol. 88:716-726. 1964.-Naturally occurring R factors are classified into two types, fi(+) and fi(-), depending on their fi characters. The term fi is an abbreviation of fertility inhibition and fi(-) and fi(-) mean, respectively, the presence and absence of suppression of the functions of the sex factor F of Escherichia coli K-12. It was found that fi(-) R factors reduce the efficiency of plating of phages lambda and T(1) in K-12; fi(+) R factors did not have this inhibitory action. One of the fi(-) R factors reduced the efficiency of plating of phage T(7) as well. Phages lambda and T(1) underwent host-induced modifications in the host carrying some fi(-) R factors. At least two types of fi(-) R factors were recognized by the types of their restriction and host-induced modification of these phages. CaCl(2) exhibited antagonistic actions against the restrictions of phages lambda and T(1) by fi(-) R factors. Transduction of the ability to ferment galactose with HFT lysates of lambda was reduced by fi(-) R factors. Ultraviolet induction of lambda was not affected by any R factors. Furthermore, adsorption of phages lambda and T(1) was not altered by the presence of any R factors. From these results, we concluded that the suppression of progeny formation of these phages by fi(-) R factors is due to some step(s) after adsorption of the phages to the bacteria. Superinfection immunity and mutual exclusion were found between two different fi(+) R factors but not between fi(+) and fi(-) R factors. The two different fi(-) R factors were frequently genetically recombined. but fi(+) and fi(-) R factors were not genetically recombined, as indicated by findings of independent transfer of these R factors by conjugation and by transduction from the donors having these two R factors. It was assumed from these findings that fi(+) and fi(-) R factors are considerably different episomes having different resistance-transfer factors.

THE EFFECT OF PROTEOLYTIC ENZYMES ON E. COLI PHAGES AND ON NATIVE PROTEINS

Lambda coli phage is not inactivated by chymotrypsin, trypsin, or ficin. T(2) phage is slowly inactivated by high concentrations of (alpha-, beta-, gamma-, or Delta-chymotrypsin, but not by trypsin or ficin. P(1) phage is slowly inactivated by alpha-, beta-, or gamma-chymotrypsin, or ficin, more rapidly by Delta-chymotrypsin, and much more rapidly by trypsin. Crystalline egg albumin, crystalline serum albumin, E. coli nucleoprotein, and yeast nucleoprotein are hydrolyzed slowly by alpha-chymotrypsin. Yeast nucleoprotein, like P(1) phage, is hydrolyzed more rapidly by Delta-chymotrypsin than by alpha-chymotrypsin, but not by trypsin or ficin. Neither phages nor native proteins were attacked by papain, carboxypeptidase, deoxyribonuclease, or ribonuclease.

INACTIVATION OF A BACTERIOPHAGE BY CHEMICAL ANTIBACTERIAL AGENTS

An extinction method has been used to examine the inactivation of coliphage T6r by a number of chemical antibacterial agents. A marked difference in the effect of concentration on inactivation efficiency has been shown for different agents, chloramine-T and formaldehyde having concentration exponents of approximately 2 and 3 respectively; crystal violet, cetrimide and phenol having concentration exponents of approximately 11, 13 and 15 respectively. It is suggested that a low concentration exponent is associated with inactivation of the phage by an effect on the protein coat of the particle and a high concentration exponent with an effect on its internal structure.

REPLICATION OF THE RNA OF BACTERIOPHAGE R17

Escherichia coli cells were irradiated with ultraviolet light to stop ribosomal RNA synthesis. After infection of such cells with the single-stranded RNA phage R17, the RNA most rapidly labeled by a pulse of tritiated uridine sedimented in a broad band in the 16S region of sucrose gradients. The effect of ribonuclease on this material and its behavior during a "chase" period in nonradioactive medium suggest that it consists of a core of double-stranded RNA, one strand of which-the viral strand-is continually displaced by a growing strand forming single-stranded tails and ultimately free 27S viral RNA.

ENHANCEMENTS OF ANTIBIOTIC ACTIVITY OF COLICINE K AND ALTERATION OF SEROLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF COLICINE K AND ENDOTOXINS

Hemoglobin, its chains, and myoglobin enhance the antibiotic activity of colicine K. These proteins also interact with colicine K and other O antigens to alter their serological activity. The hemoglobin proteins did not alter the serological activities of three Pneumococcus polysaccharides or T4 bacteriophage DNA antigens but did alter the antigenic activity of fetuin. Interaction of hemoglobin and colicine K resulted in a retardation of colicine K antibiotic moiety as measured by gel filtration but did not affect the gel filtration properties of the lipopolysaccharide moiety.