Effects of Nonionic Detergents on Mycobacteriophage Bo 20 and Some Characterization of the Phage Adsorption to Mycobacterium diernhoferi

The plaque formation of phage Bo 20 against Mycobacterium diernhoferi ATCC 19340 was markedly blocked by the presence of polyoxyethylene sorbitan long-chain acyl esters, Tweens 20, 40, 60, and 80 and polyoxyethylene monooleate, but not by two other nonionic detergents, sorbitan monooleate (Span 80) and glycerol monooleate. The viability of phage Bo 20 was reduced by incubating the phage particles with those nonionic detergents which showed the plaque formation blockage. The phage-adsorbing ability of M. diernhoferi cells pretreated with periodate, trypsin or heat was lower than that of untreated cells, whereas the ability of cells was not affected by the treatment with lipase or Tween 80. The adsorption of phage Bo 20 to M. diernhoferi cells was markedly inhibited by authentic D-galactose, D-galactosamine, D-melibiose, D,L-2, 6-diaminopimelic acid and L-lysine, respectively. These results suggest that an essential part in structures of positive nonionic detergents for inactivation of phage Bo 20 is the polyoxyethylene residue and fatty acid linked through an ester bond, and that the adsorption of the phage to the host cells may be initiated by the cell wall-associated polysaccharides and/or peptide chains.