Occurrence of lysophosphatides in bacteriophage T4rII-infected Escherichia coli S-6

Hydrolysis of phospholipids was observed to start about 15 min after Escherichia coli S/6 cells were infected with T4rII bacteriophage mutants. Hydrolysis continued through the latent period and well past the time when cell lysis occurs. The hydrolytic products that accumulated were free fatty acids, 2-acyl lysophosphatidylethanolamine, and various lysocardiolipins. These products indicated the action of phospholipase A(1). From 15 to 22 min after infection, there were equivalent amounts of fatty acids and lysophosphatides in extracts of cellular lipids. Thereafter, free fatty acids were produced in excess. This suggests that lysophospholipase was active at the later time. We also observed a stoichiometric relation between loss of phosphatidylglycerol and increase of cardiolipin plus lysocardiolipins. This continued well past the normal lysis time (25 min). The appearance of lipase activities during the latent period seems to be specific to infection with rII mutants. Neither the wild-type bacteriophage nor rI mutants produced similar activities by 22 min after infection.