Colicine typing and colicinogeny of Shigella sonnei

Abstract

The authors made investigation on Abbott and Shannon's colicine typing scheme by means of colicinogenic strains used in the classification of colicines by Fredericq; the results were as follows.1. Colicines produced by each colicine type were; 1A=K, 1B=? 2=I, 3=?, 3A≈D 4=I, 5=? 6=E1, 8=E (3), 9=E (3), 10=?, 11≈K1+?, 12=E (3), 13≈E1, and 14=E1+I. Among colicine types which produce two different colicines, only type 14 coincided with the inhibition pattern of colicinogenic strain (CA 62=E1+I).2. As to the two unstable colicine types 4/14 and 11/6, type 14 produced colicine I and colicine active to E1, and type 11 produced colicine K and colicine active to E1. According to these facts, the transference of colicine types was frequently noticed.3. Colicinogeny of 272 isolated of Shigella sonnei had two different colicines, E1+I at the rate of 64.7% (type 14) and E1+I at the rate of 8.1% (type 4/14), colicine E1 at the rate of 20.5% (type 6), colicine I at the rate of 3.3% (type 4), colicine E3 at the rate of 2.2% (type 6), colicine E3 at the rate of 0.7% (type 8) and colicine K at the rate of 0.7% (type 1A).4. Abbott and Shannon's colicine typing method can be available even in the use of the mutants resistant to colicines.