Kinetic Analysis of Bacteriophage Sf6 Binding to Outer Membrane Protein A Using Whole Virions

Natalia B. Hubbs; Mareena M. Whisby-Pitts; Jonathan L. McMurry

Teichoic acid, peptidoglycan, and other components of Gram-positive bacteria have been shown to be receptors for many phages [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] . For instance, φ29 recognizes glucosylated teichoic acid in Bacillus subtilis [10] . Bacteriophage SPP1, in addition to teichoic acid, also requires recognition of membrane protein YueB to irreversibly adsorb and commit to infection [8, 9] . Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and/or proteins localized on the outer surface of Gram-negative bacteria are also used as phage receptors [4] . For instance, bacteriophage T7 recognizes the LPS of E. coli [11] and phage S16 recognizes outer membrane protein C (OmpC) [12] . Different forms of LPS are commonly used as phage receptors and attachment is regulated by either the length of LPS or by specific O-antigen modifications, for phages such as P22 and Sf6 [13, 14] .