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Unusual characteristics of the receptor for the N sex factor-specific filamentous phage IKe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 April 2009

Sheena Dennison
Affiliation:
Department of Genetics, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, England
S. Baumberg
Affiliation:
Department of Genetics, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, England

Summary

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Plasmid-mediated sensitivity to filamentous phage IKe is shown to be a property exclusive to plasmids of the N incompatibility group. As with other sex factor-specific phages, IKe sensitivity results from the provision of a plasmid-encoded receptor. However, direct evidence for IKe adsorption to a sex pilus-like structure is so far lacking.

Mutations in an N plasmid were obtained which affected IKe infect-ability and N transfer frequency simultaneously, though to different extents. IKe receptors could be removed to a limited extent by high speed blending, but only under more extreme conditions (higher speed and in low ionic strength medium) than F pili. As with F-specific filamentous phages, IKe adsorption was partially blocked by Zn2+.

We tentatively suggest that the results accord with the IKe receptor being a sex pilus rather different from F and I pili (possibly in being much shorter in liquid culture), but other interpretations of these data are possible.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1975

References

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