Bacteriophage resistance and flocculation deficiency of Flavobacterium sp. are phenotypically interrelated

Abstract

An analysis of Flavobacterium sp. strain 304 variants selected for flocculation deficiency and phage resistance has been carried out. The results show that flocculation is efficiently hindered by overexpressed protein in the outer membrane or carbohydrate on the cell surface. The floc-forming protein is suggested to be a minor component of the cell surface. The 12 flocculation-deficient and five phage-insensitive variants obtained were grouped into ten classes based on nine characteristics. In addition, bacteriophage d~304 resistance and the pure culture flocculation deficiency of this strain are interrelated.