[Discovery of a new type of restriction and modification in a group of intestinal bacteria].

The adsorption of 23 new lambdoid bacteriophages to 547 strains which isolated from natural population of Enterobacteriaceae was studied. The frequency of positive combinations of phage-bacterium with adsorption is not more than 2%. A study of possible causes of limited growth of lambdoid phages in the bacterial strains revealed that neither homoimmune prophage nor prophage P2 are single factors of the growth limitation. It is found that in natural populations a selection of bacterial strains with the least limitation of phage takes place. Three cases of killing bacteria after infection with high multiplicity are found. The reason of the killing effect is manifestation of some functions by infecting phages. A new restriction-modification system is found which differs from restriction-modification system A, B, K, 15, P1, EcoRI, EcoRII. The most of strains, which adsorb phages but do not support their growth, are supposed to possess several mechanisms of restriction. Thus, the search of new restriction system in Escherichia coli is worthwhile.