MYCOBACTERIOPHAGE I

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Abstract
Three phages, D28, D29, and D32, active against both virulent and saprophytic mycobacteria, have been characterized with respect to thermal inactivation rates, pH stabilities, and serological relationships. A study of the effect of temperature on phage survival shows that when log percent survivors is plotted against time, the curves obtained are characteristic of viruses in general, i.e., they are composed of 1 component at lower temperatures, but with increasing temperature a 2-component relationship, obtains. No serological cross-neutralization was found, indicating that the 3 phages are antigenically distinct. The range of greatest pH stability is pH 6 to 10 for D28, pH 7 to 10 for D29, and pH 7 to 9 for D32. The addition of alkali-metallic ions to phage suspended in nutrient broth at pH 10 results in a loss in viability of varying degrees; this loss can be prevented by the addition of calcium or magnesium ions to the medium. It is proposed that the influence of monovalent metallic ions on phage viability at pH 10 is related to interactions of cations with specific viral protein, the result of which is an alteration in molecular specificity required for successful attachment or penetration of phage to host bacterium.

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