The Purification and Electron Microscopical Examination of the Structure of Staphylococcal Bacteriophage K

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Abstract
The phage was concentrated and purified from broth lysates by precipitation with 30% (vol./vol.) acetone in water in the cold, further purified by treatment with isobutanol and chloroform, and concentrated by pressure filtration in reinforced collodion sacs. Electron microscopic examination revealed empty phage heads, and tails, in addition to intact phage in purified concentrate. Expts. indicate that while these entities could be made by disintegration of the phage, they were already present in this form in the original lysate. Study of the structure of the phage indicates the presence of a removable solid rod or plug within the tail which terminates in the terminal bob. These findings are discussed in relation to the structure of other phages, and their physiology.