Antigenicity of converting phages obtained from Clostridium botulinum types C and D.

Phage conversion of toxigenicity in Clostridium botulinum types C and D was accomplished by using nontoxigenic strains and phages purified from plaques. Although the morphology of the converting phages seemed to be the same, they were divided into three groups on the basis of their conversion spectrum. The first group consists of phages obtained from toxogenic strains C-Stockholm and C-468. The second group consists of phages from strains D-1873 and C-203. The third group consists of phages from strains D-South African and D-4947. These converting phages were also classified into the same three groups by a neutralization test with specific antiphage sera. Cross-neutralization, however, was observed between phages belonging to group 1 and group 2,by both the neutralization test of converting ability and by a plaque experiment in which the surviving rates of phages were calculated after treatment with each antiphage serum. The antigenic differences among these converting phages should probably comprise one of the reasons for the existence of the specific infection spectrum in C. botulinum types C and D.