CYTOLOGICAL CHANGES IN ESCHERICHIA COLI PRODUCED BY INFECTION WITH PHAGE T2

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Abstract
The succession of changes that occur in E. coli B, in nutrient broth or synthetic medium, following infection with phage T2r or phage T2r+ has been studied by observing fixed cells stained with either Giemsa or thionine. In Giemsa prepns. the first change is the appearance of "marginated" cells. The chromatin from each body is distributed along the adjacent cyto-plasmic membrane. These are succeeded by "granular" cells, the chromatin being irregularly distributed. The granules increase in size and density until with T2r infection the cells lyse. T2r+ infection gives rise to marginated and granular cells as with T2r. Instead of lysing most of the granular cells change to "banded" cells in which the granules seem to coalesce, giving the appearance of thick bands of densely staining chromatin almost filling the cells in the areas originally occupied by the nuclear bodies. The banded cells eventually lyse. Thionine prepns. confirm the initial change described above. Subsequently the staining capacity of the cytoplasm decreases and is almost lost at the time of lysis.

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