Lactococcal phage abortive infection (AbiD1) determined by plasmid pIL105 is active on both prolate-and small-isometric-head phages of the C6A and 936 phage groups, respectively, which are considered two different species. The Abi phenotype was found to be encoded by a single gene, designated abiD1. The abiD1-encoded protein (351 amino acids) does not show homology with any known protein and has a deduced isoelectric point of 10. It also possesses two helix-turn-helix structures and an unusually high content of asparagine, isoleucine, and lysine. A consensual promoter with a TGy extension to the ؊10 box was mapped 76 bp upstream of the start codon. Transcription initiated at this strong promoter stops at a terminator located 48 bp downstream from the promoter. The termination process is very efficient, and transcripts corresponding to the abiD1 gene were not visible in our experimental conditions with or without phage infection. Expression of abiD1 under the control of a T7 promoter induced a lag phase in Lactococcus lactis cell growth, suggesting that overproduction of AbiD1 could be toxic for the cells. AbiD1 protein was visualized in Escherichia coli by using a tightly controlled expression system.Lactococci are widely used for the manufacture of dairy products, where they are challenged with high concentrations of a variety of phages. Eleven different phage species have been defined according to DNA homology (18). These highly selective environmental conditions are most probably responsible for the selection of strains with a high degree of phage resistance. Some of these strains were shown to have accumulated several types of defense mechanisms, including adsorption interference, restriction and modification, and abortive infection (4,10,12,19). Therefore, lactococci represent a good model with which to study the coevolution of bacteria and phages and to identify phage defense mechanisms. One of these, abortive infection, abruptly interrupts phage development, resulting in the release of few or no progeny particles and cell death. This phenotype resembles that conferred by F on Escherichia coli infected by phage T7 (29). Three lactococcal genes coding for an Abi phenotype have been cloned and sequenced (6,7,10,16). The proteins specified by these genes, designated abiA, abiB, and abiC, have no homology with protein sequences in the data banks and are not cross-homologous. There is presently no hypothesis concerning their mode of action.In this work, we established that the Abi phenotype conferred by pIL105, previously shown to be active on lactococcal phages of two different species (12), is determined by a single gene, designated abiD1. Transcription initiated at a strong consensus promoter stops at a terminator located upstream of the gene. Transcripts corresponding to abiD1 were not detectable under our experimental conditions, indicating that the gene is expressed at a low level before or after phage infection. This may be due to some toxicity of the AbiD1 protein, suggested by a lag phase in the growth...