Bacteriophage T4 whiskers: a rudimentary environment-sensing device.

The 400 A filaments or "whiskers," which extend outward from the collar region of the phage, control retraction and extension of the tail fibers in response to certain environmental conditions. The tail fibers of normal phage retract in the absence of a required adsorption cofactor, at low pH, at low ionic strength, at low temperature, and at high concentrations of polyethylene glycol. The tail fibers of mutant whiskerless (wac) phage still retract under the first two conditions, but not the last three. Antibodies to whiskers neutralize T4, probably by fixing tail fibers in the retracted configuration. Phage with retracted tail fibers adsorb poorly to host bacterial cells, and their adsorption rate increases as the fibers become extended. These results suggest that one function of the whiskers is to retract the tail fibers and thereby prevent adsorption to host cells under certain conditions that might be unfavorable for production of phage progeny following infection.