In the present paper are described the experimental evidences that some monosaccharides could inactivate the infectivity of certain purified phage particles. Since these phages are closely related with the somatic antigen O (12) of salmonella bacilli in their receptor or inactivating agent, the terminal sugar components of which have recently been clarified, there would be a possibility to analyse the configurational complementarity between the tail-tip of these phages and the antigenic determinant of this salmonella antigen through these specific inactivations by monosaccharides.
1) Phages a
1 and Pc have a close relationship with salmonella antigen O (12). The former, temperate phage, requires this antigen as the receptor for its adsorption and the latter, virulent phage, is easily inactivated by the agent closely related with this antigen.
2) According to the researches of Staub, Stocker and others, the determinant of this antigen is composed of the bifurcated oligosaccharide chain terminating with glucose and rhamnose, respectively. And the glucose chain has been known to have a sequence-α-glucose-galactose-mannose-rhamnose.
3) When mix-incubated with one molar solution of various mono- or di-saccharides at 37°C for one or three hours, the purified particles of these phages have been shown to be remarkably inactivated by some specific sugars.
4) So far examined, these two phages are proven to be inactivated only by D-glucose and D-mannose but not by D-galactose and L-rhamnose which also compose the determinant group of the O (12) antigen as well as the former two.
5) The inactivation rates observed in mix-incubation of Pc phage with one molar solution of D-glucose and D-mannose are respectively about 10
-6 and 10
-3, while those of a
1 phage with the same sugar solutions are just the reverse of the former indicating about 10
-3 with D-glucose and 10
-6 with D-mannose.
6) On the other hand, a
2 (temperate phage), T2, T4 and T3 (virulent phage of T series) which all have nothing to do with the O (12) antigen were examined, but the former three phages did not receive any influence from all tested sugars and only T3 was revealed to be inactivated by D-galactose and D-arabinose as well as D-glucose and D-mannose, though with lower rates than 10
-3.
7) Further more, several mono-, di- and trisaccharides were tested but all but melibiose have shown any detectable inactivating effects to these two phages.
All these experimental results were discussed in consideration of the complementarity which might exist between the molecular configuration of the tail-tip of a
1 and Pc phages and the terminal sugar components determining the specificity of salmonella O (12) antigen.
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