Lipopolysaccharide is the receptor for kappa phage inSerratia marcescens

Abstract

Kappa phage active on Serratia marcescens can form plaques on white and red strains with identical efficiencies. To identify the kappa phage receptor, the inactivation of the phage was studied after incubation with several bacterial subcellular fractions. The experiments demonstrated that kappa phage adsorbs to outer membrane fractions of susceptible cells. Proteinase K did not affect the rate of inactivation. Lipopolysaccharide proved to be the primary receptor for kappa phage. Prodigiosin content of the lipopolysaccharide fraction was low.

Buffering Capacity of Pigmented and Nonpigmented Strains of Serratia marcescens

“…S. marcescens GP is a nonpigmented mutant of S. marcescens ATCC 274 (12) belonging to the same biogroup, A2a, as the wild-type strain (3). Both strains were grown aerobically with shaking to the early stationary phase (8 to 10 h) in complex medium containing meat peptone (0.5%, wt/vol), casein peptone (0.5%, wt/vol), yeast extract (0.3%, wt/vol), sodium chloride (0.5%, wt/vol), and glycerol (0.8%, vol/vol) and then washed three times with 300 mM KCl.…”

The Role ofSerratia marcescensPorins in Antibiotic Resistance

“…Although most phages active on Gram-negative bacteria have their primary receptor in the LPS, 14 some phages adsorbing on OMPs have also been described. 2 To obtain porin-deficient mutants, we searched for bacteriophages in highly polluted rivers in the region around Barcelona.…”