Revisiting the host adhesion determinants of Streptococcus thermophilus siphophages

Structures and host-adhesion mechanisms of lactococcal siphophages

The Siphoviridae family of bacteriophages is the largest viral family on earth and comprises members infecting both bacteria and archaea. Lactococcal siphophages infect the Gram-positive bacterium Lactococcus lactis, which is widely used for industrial milk fermentation processes (e.g., cheese production). As a result, lactococcal phages have become one of the most thoroughly characterized clas...

Adhesion determinants of the Streptococcus species

Streptococci are clinically important Gram-positive bacteria that are capable to cause a wide variety of diseases in humans and animals. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA sequences of the streptococcal species reveal a clustering pattern, reflecting, with a few exceptions, their pathogenic potential and ecological preferences. Microbial adhesion to host tissues is the initial critical eve...

Characterization of Streptococcus thermophilus host range phage mutants.

To investigate phage-host interactions in Streptococcus thermophilus, a phage-resistant derivative (SMQ-301R) was obtained by challenging a Tn917 library of phage-sensitive strain S. thermophilus SMQ-301 with virulent phage DT1. Mutants of phages DT1 and MD2 capable of infecting SMQ-301 and SMQ-301R were isolated at a frequency of 10(-6). Four host range phage mutants were analyzed further and ...

Streptococcus thermophilus.

Streptocus tmophilus, as a species designation (Orla-Jensen, 1919), has included those members of the nonhemolytic streptococci that possess the unusual combination of characteristics of extreme salt sensitivity, nonobligate thermophily, a rigorous fermentative pattern with respect to certain sugars (Sherman, 1937), and, based upon attempts to culture on synthetic media, a notoriety for nutriti...

The Fermentation of Disaccharides by Streptococcus thermophilus.