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Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, January 2001, p. 31-39, Vol. 8, No. 1
Department of Microbiology and Clinical
Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Karadeniz Technical University,
61080 Trabzon,1 and Department of
Clinical Bacteriology and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine,
Firat University, Elazig,3 Turkey and
Department of Oral Biology, College of Dentistry,
University of Illinois at Chicago,Chicago, Illinois2
Received 1 May 2000/Returned for modification 21 August 2000/Accepted 10 October 2000
Lactobacilli play an important role in maintaining vaginal health.
However, during bacterial vaginosis lactobacilli decrease for unknown
reasons. Our preliminary study showed that phages could infect vaginal
lactobacilli. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the
distribution, virulence, and types of vaginal Lactobacillus
phages isolated from women of two countries: the United States and
Turkey. A total of 209 vaginal lactobacilli were isolated from
reproductive-aged women in the United States (n = 107)
and Turkey (n = 102). By analysis of 16S rRNA gene
sequence and by comparison of protein profiles, most lactobacilli were identified as L. crispatus, L. gasseri, and
L. jensenii. After mitomycin C induction, 28% of American
lactobacilli and 36% of Turkish lactobacilli released phages. A total
of 67 phages were isolated and further characterized by their host
range, electron microscopy, and DNA homology. All 67 phages were
infective against lactobacilli from both collections. The host ranges
of most phages were broad, including multiple Lactobacillus
species. Even though the phages were all temperate, they were able to
cause lytic infection in various strains. The electron micrographs of
these phages showed a hexagon-shaped head and a long tail with or
without a contractile tail sheath. Based on their morphology, these
phages belonged to Bradley's phage groups A and B, and could be
further classified into four morphotypes. All four types were found
among American phages, but only three were found among Turkish
isolates. DNA hybridization with labeled probes of the four types of
phages revealed that additional genetic types existed within each
morphotype among these phages. The phage genomic sizes ranged between
34 and 55 kb. Many of the lysogenic Lactobacillus strains
released phages spontaneously at a high frequency of 10
1071-412X/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/CDLI.8.1.31-39.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Comparative Study of Vaginal
Lactobacillus Phages Isolated from Women in the United
States and Turkey: Prevalence, Morphology, Host Range, and DNA
Homology
3
to 10
4 PFU/cell. In conclusion, lysogeny in vaginal
lactobacilli is widely spread. Some lysogenic lactobacilli
spontaneously release phages with a broad host range, which can be
lytic against other vaginal lactobacilli regardless of their geographic origin.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: University of
Illinois at Chicago, College of Dentistry, M/C 690, 801 South Paulina St., Chicago, IL 60612. Phone: (312) 355-4077. Fax: (312) 996-6044. E-mail: Ltao{at}uic.edu.
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