The Effect of Temperature on the Ecology of Aquatic Bacteriophages

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Abstract
Summary Three physiological types of coliphage were recognized on the basis of the effect of temperature on their e.o.p. High temperature (HT) phages plated at or above 25 °C, low temperature (LT) phages at or below 30 °C and mid-temperature (MT) phages in the range 15 to 42 °C. Only LT phages were found for Aeromonas hydrophila, an indigenous water organism. The maximum and minimum plating temperatures were stable properties of the virus and were not influenced by the growth temperature of the host. Temperature was found to affect the adsorption of two phages and to affect multiplication, but not adsorption, of another two. The distribution of the three types of phage correlated closely with the temperature of the environment from which they were isolated. The ecological implication of these results is discussed.