Absence of the membrane protease FtsH in Lactococcus lactis hinders release of the bacteriophage TP712. In this work we have analyzed the mechanism responsible for the non-lytic phenotype of L. lactis ΔftsH after phage infection. The lytic cassette of TP712 contains a putative antiholin-pinholin system and a modular endolysin (LysTP712). Inducible expression of the holin gene demonstrated the p...

Phage typing of 13,579 clinical and environmental strains of Staphylococcus aureus received at the Quebec Public Health Laboratory between 1976 and 1983 was routinely performed to assess the distribution of lytic groups. Strains susceptible to phages 94, 95, and 96 predominated and accounted for 25% of the specimens. The distribution of strains in lytic groups varied with time and specimen source.

Following infection, the development of phage P22 by either the lytic or the lysogenic pathways requires recombination, mediated either by the phage erf system or by the bacterial ret system [Botstein, D., and Matz, M. J. (1970) J. Mol. Biol. 54, 417-4401. We have investigated the timing of the essential recombinational processes with temperature-shift experiments using a temperature-sensitive ...

Currently, the search for new therapy options infectious diseases caused by multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a priority. Combining antibiotics with virulent (lytic) bacteriophages may be considered viable alternative to conventional antibiotic therapy. The study was aimed assess combined effects of lytic bacteriophage vB_SauM-515A1 Herelleviridae family and various classes on clinic...

Phage typing of 13,579 clinical and environmental strains of Staphylococcus aureus received at the Quebec Public Health Laboratory between 1976 and 1983 was routinely performed to assess the distribution of lytic groups. Strains susceptible to phages 94, 95, and 96 predominated and accounted for 25% of the specimens. The distribution of strains in lytic groups varied with time and specimen source.

90 Virulence Volume 4 Issue 1 Phage lytic enzymes have potential as new inroads toward novel antibiotics. Until now this approach has only been promising for Grampositive bacteria because in Gram-negatives the target of lytic action is protected by an outer envelope. Information gleaned from the structural studies of two plague proteins— pesticin and FyuA—allowed us to engineer a “hybrid” prote...

The success of a temperate bacteriophage is dependent upon its ability to completely shut down expression of its lytic genes during lysogenic growth. Mycobacteriophage L5 accomplishes this by an atypical phage repressor, gp71, which binds to multiple asymmetric DNA sites. L5 gp71 regulates transcription initiation at an early lytic promoter, Pleft, but also affects downstream gene expression at...

Isogenic bacteria can exhibit a range of phenotypes, even in homogeneous environmental conditions. Such nongenetic individuality has been observed in a wide range of biological processes, including differentiation and stress response. A striking example is the heterogeneous response of bacteria to antibiotics, whereby a small fraction of drug-sensitive bacteria can persist under extensive antib...

Rapid and reliable detection of harmful pathogens at low levels are vital due to the related environmental and economical impact. While antibodies (monoclonal or polyclonal) are successfully employed in many immunoanalysis procedures as a biorecognition element, many of them remain costly with a comparatively short shelf life and uncertain manufacturability. Additionally, they suffer from sever...

Peptidoglycan (PG) is the major structural component of the bacterial cell wall. Bacteria have autolytic PG hydrolases that allow the cell to grow and divide. A well-studied group of PG hydrolase enzymes are the bacteriophage endolysins. Endolysins are PG-degrading proteins that allow the phage to escape from the bacterial cell during the phage lytic cycle. The endolysins, when purified and exp...