title: Interaction between bacteriophage Sf6 and Shigella flexner.
abstract: The Shigella flexneri phage Sf6 has an isometric head with hexagonal symmetry 53nm in diameter. The noncontractile tails in 16 nm long and terminates with a base plate containing six spikes. Sf6 is typical of the C phages in the morphological classification of Bradley. Phage Sf6 processes alpha-1,3-endorhamnosidase activity as demonstrated by methylation and reducing end group sugar analyses of the products obtained on interaction with the O-polysaccharide chain of S.flexneri strains which have the O-group 3,4 antigen. The major end product was an octasaccharide with the following structure: Rha III-GlcNAc-Rha I-Rha II-Rha III-GlcNAc-Rha I-Rha II. Acetylation of 0-2 of rhamnose III of the O-polysaccharide chain, either brought about by Sf6 lysogenization or found in wild-type S. flexneri (3b) strains, prevented enzymatic hydrolysis. O-deacetylation of the polysaccharide chain again made it susceptible to the S6f endorhamnosidase.
mesh_terms: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D003090:Coliphages / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008242:Lysogeny; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism*; D012210:Rhamnose / Q000378:metabolism; D012763:Shigella flexneri / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D012210:Rhamnose