[The study of Erwinia carotovora bacteriocins in the nalidixic acid resistant Erwinia carotovora]

Abstract

A novel approach is proposed for the study of the macromolecular bacteriocins of Erwinia carotovora (MCTVs). The approach lies in that the bacteriocinogeny of pectolytic erwinia is studied using a lawn of a bacterial mutant resistant to nalidixic acid, an inducer of MCTVs. The high efficiency of this approach was demonstrated by studying carotovoricins in 104 different E. carotovora strains, 88% of which bear MCTVs, distinguished by the morphology of zones of induced lysis on a lawn of susceptible cells, the lysis pattern, and some other characteristics. Preliminary studies by this approach showed that there is no correlation between the occurrence of MCTVs in particular E. carotovora strains and the habitat of the host plants from which these strains were isolated. There are grounds to believe that the approach proposed can also be used for investigating bacterial lysogeny.