Isolation and characterization of bacteriophage PM2 from Aeromonas hydrophila.

PM2 is an Aeromonas-specific bacteriophage isolated on A. hydrophila strain AH-3. The bacteriophage receptor for this phage was found to be the lipopolysaccharide (LPS), specifically a low-molecular weight LPS fraction (LPS-core oligosaccharides). Mutants resistant to this phage were isolated and found to be devoid of LPS O-antigen and altered in the LPS-core. No other outer-membrane (OM) molecules appeared to be involved in phage binding.