[Properties of MTPN11 mycobacteriophage].

Some characteristics of the poorly studied phage MTPH11, which is used for identification of mycobacteria, are presented. The phage has an isometric head and a long noncontractile tail (B1 morphotype). The attachment apparatus of this phage includes a basal plate composed of two joint disks and a single tail fiber. The constant of phage adsorption on Mycobacterium smegmatis ATCC607 cells is 6.6 x 10(-9) ml/min. The latent infection period in the MTPH11-host strain 607 system in 65 min; phage progeny ranges from 30 to 40 virions per one cell. The constant of phage inactivation with a homologous antiserum is 50 min-1. The buoyant density of intact MTPH11 virion in CsCl amounts to 1.520 g/cm3. The phage is susceptible to chloroform, retains lytic activity within a pH range of 5 to 9, and is resistant to inactivating agents. The G + C content of the phage DNA is 63 mol%.