Lysogenic conversion in Klebsiella pneumoniae: system which requires active immunity regulation for expression of the conversion phenomenon.

We have previously described Klebsiella pneumoniae MirM7b, which, although stably lysogenic for the inducible and nondefective phages FR2 and AP3, is not immune to superinfection by these same viruses. MirA12b, a strain which is lysogenic for FR2 and AP3 and immune to superinfection, has been derived from MirM7b. The sensitivity of this strain and that of the nonimmune parent to several bacteriophages have been compared in this work. It has been found that, whereas MirM7b is sensitive to coliphages P1, T3, T7, and phiI, MirA12b is fully resistant to all of them. It is shown that phages FR2 and AP3 convert Klebsiella strains to resistance to coliphage P1 and coliphages T3, T7, and phiI, respectively, and cause loss of surface antigens in lysogenic cells. To determine such a conversion, both FR2 and AP3 require expression of immunity to superinfection. This explains the differences that exist between MirM7b and MirA12b in both phage sensitivity and surface antigens. Hypotheses are presented to explain the peculiar need for an active superinfection repressor to express lysogenic conversion.