Phage ε
34 is a temperate phage, capable of converting group E
2 Salmonella (O antigens 3, 15) to group E
3 Salmonella (O antigens (3), (15), 34) by lysogenization. The formation of antigen 34 is accompanied by partial loss of antigens 3 and 15, suggesting a close relationship between antigens 34 and 3 or 15 (Nakagawa, 1957; 1959).
Since Salmonella anatum (group E
1, O antigens 3, 10) does not adsorb phage ε
34, its lysogenization with ε
34 was carried out under particular conditions suggested by the experiments by Uetake, Luria and Burrous (1958). The resulting ε
34-lysogenic cells (=A(ε
34)) are same as S. anatum in their O antigens and in their sensitivities to phages ε
15 and ε
34, excepting their resistance to phage C
341. When they are infected with ε
15, both antigens 15 and 34 appear within several minutes in infected cells.
Most remarkable are the findings that A (ε
34) cells do not form antigen 34, irrespective of the presence of prophage ε
34, which always leads to the formation of antigen 34 when it infects 3, 15 cells of group E
2, and that antigen 34 appears when A (ε
34) cells form antigen 15 by infection with phage ε
15 These observations, together with Nakagawa's finding mentioned above, indicate that the formation of antigen 15, at least partially, is a necessary prerequisite for the formation of antigen 34. Antigen 3 does not seem to be necessary for the formation of antigen 34, since antigen 3 of S. anatum is identical with that of group E
2 cells or of A (ε
15) cells but there is neither formation of antigen 34 nor loss of antigen 3 in A (ε
34).
The resistance of A (ε
34) to phage C
341 is considered to be analogous to the resistance of lysogenic strains to unrelated phages, which has been observed in phages P1, P2 and λ (Bertani, 1953; Benzer, 1955).
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