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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2001, p. 1682-1688, Vol. 67, No. 4
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.4.1682-1688.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Interaction of the Phi HSIC Virus with Its Host: Lysogeny or Pseudolysogeny?

S. J. Williamson, M. R. McLaughlin, and J. H. Paul*

College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701

Received 15 September 2000/Accepted 3 January 2001

The marine phage Phi HSIC has been previously reported to enter into a lysogenic relationship with its host, HSIC, identified as Listonella pelagia. This phage produces a variety of plaques on its host, including turbid and haloed plaques, from which lysogens were previously isolated. These lysogens were unstable during long-term storage at -80° C and were lost. When HSIC was reinfected with phage Phi HSIC, pseudolysogen-like interactions between the phage and its host were observed. The cells (termed HSIC-2 or HSIC-2e) produced high viral titers (1011 ml-1) in the absence of inoculating phage and yet reached culture densities of nearly 109 ml-1. Prophages were not induced by mitomycin C or the polyaromatic hydrocarbon naphthalene in cells harboring such infections. However, such cells were homoimmune to superinfection. Colonies hybridized strongly with a gene probe from a 100-bp fragment of the Phi HSIC genome, while the host did not. Analysis of chromosomal DNA preparations suggested the presence of a chromosomally integrated prophage. Phage adsorption experiments suggested that HSIC-2 was adsorption impaired. Because of the chromosomal prophage integration and homoimmunity, we interpret these results to indicate that Phi HSIC establishes a lysogenic relationship with its host that involves an extremely high level of spontaneous induction. This could be caused by a weak repressor of phage production. Additionally, poor phage adsorption of HSIC-2 compared to the wild type probably helped maintain this pseudolysogen-like relationship. In many ways, pseudolysogenic phage-host interactions may provide a paradigm for phage-host interactions in the marine environment.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, 140 7th Avenue S., St. Petersburg, FL 33701. Phone: (727) 553-1168. Fax: (727) 553-1189. E-mail: jpaul{at}seas.marine.usf.edu.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2001, p. 1682-1688, Vol. 67, No. 4
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.4.1682-1688.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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