Open AccessThe Adsorption of Phage by Staphylococcus spp.
Author(s) -
Linda Barnard,
A. Seaman
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
journal of general virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.55
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1465-2099
pISSN - 0022-1317
DOI - 10.1099/0022-1317-53-1-189
Subject(s) - teichoic acid , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , coagulase , cell wall , staphylococcus , affinities , binding site , staphylococcus aureus , bacteria , biochemistry , genetics
Phages for coagulase-negative staphylococci were adsorbed to heat-killed cells. The phages showed equal affinities for all the cells, which appeared to have an equal number of binding sites for all the phages tested. This number is estimated at 1.2 x 10(6) sites/cell. Competition for binding sites could be demonstrated between a pair of phages. It is concluded that coagulase-negative staphylococci have only a single series of binding sites for phage, probably the outer 20% or so of the wall teichoic acids. These organisms therefore bind all 'coagulase-negative' phages whether or not they are sensitive to them.