Lysogeny and Bacteriocinogeny in Strains of Clostridium Species

Abstract

The occurrence of lysogeny and bacteriocinogeny was systematically investigated in 106 strains of Clostridium species (non-pathogenic and mostly acetone-butanol-or isopropanol butanol-producing) by cross-testing all the strains against each other. Consequently, it was found that 4 strains were lysogenic and other 18 strains bacteriocinogenic, and that all the strains were sensitive to one or more of bacteriocins and 15 strains of them were sensitive to the phages as well as bacteriocins. The four temperate phages isolated were indistinguishable from each other in their host ranges, serological properties and other characteristics tested, and named as KT. Grouping of the bacteriocins on the basis of their activity spectra and their specificity against bacteriocin-resistant mutants showed that 18 bacteriocins fell into 5 groups. The bacteriocins were named as clostocin, and groups of clostocin were designated as A, B, C, D and E, respectively. There was cross-resistance between KT-phage and clostocin A, suggesting a common receptor. There were no correlations between the KT-phage or clostocins and the HMphages of Cl. saccharoperbutylacetonicum.

Acetone-butanol fermentation revisited.

“…The occurrence of lysogeny and bacteriocinogeny in 106 freshly isolated strains of Clostridium spp. (of which the majority were solvent producers) was investigated by Hongo et al (100). Four of these strains contained lysogenic phages which were identical in their host range, serological properties, plaque morphology, and UV inactivation kinetics, and 18 of the strains also produced bacteriocins.…”

Bacteriocins of gram-positive bacteria.

“…OF BACTERIOCINS The naming of bacteriocins has been haphazard, at times being based upon the generic (78,127,170,279,300) and at other times the species (88,91,104,138,202,253) designation of the producer strains. In gram-positive bacteria, this lack ofuniformity is evidenced by the alternate designations of bacteriocins of Listeria monocytogenes as either listeriocins (290) or monocins (105), those ofCorynebacterium diphtheriae as corycins (170) or diphthericins (88), and those ofS.…”

“…Because different bacteriocins may be produced by organisms belonging to a single species, additional designations are required for further differentiation. These are generally arbitrary, often being consecutive letters of the alphabet (124,127,150,291). For precise specification of 'a particular bacteriocin it has been suggested (207, 232) that the trivial designation of the producing strain be included within the bacteriocin name.…”

“…Perhaps the first reference to the production of inhibitory substances with bacteriocin-like properties by clostridia occurred in a study of phage production by C. perfringens (263). Subsequently, there have been reports of bacteriocin production by strains of C. botulinum (16) and related nontoxigenic strains (157), and also by C. sporogenes (16,17), C. butyricum (43), and various nonpathogenic clostridia (127,128). The best characterized, and most extensively studied, are bacteriocins of C. botulinum and C. perfringens.…”

Purification of Two Clostridium Bacteriocins by Procedures Appropriate to Hydrophobic Proteins

“…Bacteriocins effective against obligately anaerobic organisms have been particularly neglected. Yet, several species of Clostridium are known to produce bacteriocins (2,6,14,15,21). The most studied of these are the perfringocins which are produced by strains of Clostridium perfringens and are active on many other strains of this species (25)(26)(27)36).…”