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J Bacteriol. 1969 February; 97(2): 640-646
Copyright © 1969 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Evidence for Two States of F Pili

¹ Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130
² Department of Biochemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720

ABSTRACT

The addition of phenethyl alcohol (PEA) to cultures of male strains of Escherichia coli rapidly prevents the adsorption of the male-specific bacteriophages f1 and f2 to the donor cells. The adsorption of f2 to F pili in cell-free preparations is unaffected by PEA. In a mating system, PEA alters the kinetics of gene transfer in minimal medium but not in broth. Sodium cyanide, azide, and iodoacetate also apparently inhibit f2 adsorption to cells but not to detached F pili. The phage adsorption inhibitory action of PEA is completely reversible in the presence of 100 µg of chloramphenicol per ml.