Isolation and characterization of a bacteriophage for Thiobacillus novellus

Abstract

A DNA-containing bacteriophage for Thiobacillus novellus has been isolated from sewage and purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, differential centrifugation, and cesium chloride equilibrium centrifugation. The buoyant density of this phage in CsCl is 1.51 g/cm(3). Electron microscopy studies have revealed a polyhedral head about 60 nm in diameter and a tail surrounded by a number of fine filaments. It has an adsorption rate constant of 1.1 x 10(-9) ml/min, a latent period of 45 min, and an average burst size of 150. The mole guanine and cytosine content in its DNA has been estimated to be 57 to 58%. Five structural proteins with molecular weights of 62,000, 42,500, 30,500, 17,750, and 13,500 have been detected by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis techniques.