Phenotypic variations in re-lysogenization of Bacillus licheniformis with temperate phage.
A bacitracin-producing strain Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 10716 harbors two types of inducible phages (LP52 and DLP 10716). 156 strains re-lysogenized with phage LP52 were independently isolated from a cured strain UM12 of B. licheniformis. Those strains were divided into 12 groups based on colony morphology and pigment production. Some of the re-lysogenized strains grew faster than UM12 and others produced more bacitracin than the cured strain. For example, the production of bacitracin by one of the re-lysogenized strains, L89, was enhanced by about 70% in comparison with UM12. The phenotypic variations observed with re-lysogenized strains might be due to the re-insertion of the phage genome at different sites of the chromosome in addition to the pleiotropic effect assumed.
D001407:Bacillus / Q000235:genetics*; D001414:Bacitracin / Q000096:biosynthesis; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000502:physiology*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008242:Lysogeny; D010641:Phenotype
D001414:Bacitracin