
doi: 10.1139/m72-011
pmid: 4110830
Temperate bacteriophages of diverse morphology were demonstrated by electron microscopy in toxigenic cultures of Clostridium botulinum. The 41 strains examined included 23 type E and multiple representatives of all other types. Cultures induced with mitomycin-C generally gave better yields, but phages were also demonstrable in untreated cultures.A provisional grouping of toxigenic types into four categories is suggested, based mainly upon associated phage patterns. Group 1 comprises types A, B, and F (all proteolytic), many of whose cultures showed an icosahedral contractile phage; others contained a "bullrushy" phage with elongated head and long flexible tail; some strains yielded both. Group 2, types B and F (non-proteolytic), were associated with icosahedral contractile phages; the latter also had an octahedral flexible phage. Group 3, types C and D, yielded conspicuously large phages with octahedral heads and very long sheathed tails. One type C strain produced a long-tailed icosahedral phage. Type E phages constituted group 4. These were icosahedral with tails generally contracted but sometimes flexible, often accompanied by superfluous sheathed tail-like structures resembling certain bacteriocins. Although non-toxigenic "OS" mutants of types A, B, E, and F were phageless, two non-toxic type E strains yielded phages. The possible role of lysogeny in the toxigenicity of certain types of this species is likely to prove difficult to elucidate.
Botulinum Toxins, Virus Cultivation, Staining and Labeling, Phosphotungstic Acid, Culture Media, Mitomycins, Mice, Microscopy, Electron, Viral Proteins, Flagella, Mutation, Clostridium botulinum, Food Microbiology, Animals, Bacteriophages, Serotyping, Bacteriophage Typing, Lysogeny, Ultracentrifugation
Botulinum Toxins, Virus Cultivation, Staining and Labeling, Phosphotungstic Acid, Culture Media, Mitomycins, Mice, Microscopy, Electron, Viral Proteins, Flagella, Mutation, Clostridium botulinum, Food Microbiology, Animals, Bacteriophages, Serotyping, Bacteriophage Typing, Lysogeny, Ultracentrifugation
| citations This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 50 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Average | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Top 10% | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% |
