The Effect of Certain Chemical Compounds on the Multiplication of T2 Bacteriophage

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Abstract
Bacteriophages offer a comparatively simple means of studying the effect of chemical compounds on the multiplication of viruses. Many substances have been found capable of inhibiting the development of bacteriophages without greatly affecting the multiplication of the host-cells (1–5). Certain metabolic poisons have been shown to inhibit phage multiplication in the absence of cell growth (6), while others do not. 5-Methyltryptophan (7) has been shown to inhibit the multiplication of T2 bacteriophage, but only at levels that interfere with the growth of the host-cells. We have reported (8) that the multiplication of T2 bacteriophage can be inhibited by desoxypyridoxine. The inhibition is reversed by pyridoxine and by glucose-6-phosphate or several other intermediates of carbohydrate metabolism, and by acetic acid or several other short-chain fatty acids. This report is on the effect of 316 chemical compounds which were selected for testing on the multiplication of T2 Escherichia coli bacteriophage.1