CHARACTERISTICS OF FOUR RHIZOBIOPHAGES ACTIVE AGAINST RHIZOBIUM MELILOTI

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Abstract
Four phage isolates for strains of Rhizobium meliloti were obtained from sewage and held soil and purified by standard techniques. Plaque sizes ranged from 1.0 to 4.0 mm. The titers of these phages remained unchanged after 24 months' storage at 0° and 4 °C. None of the phages lysed all of the 38 strains of R. meliloti tested, although 29 of these strains were lysed by one of the phages. Of 292 other strains of rhizobia isolated from 108 species of 50 leguminous genera, one of the phages lysed six strains, another, five strains, while the other two phages did not lyse any. None of the phages lysed any of the 40 strains of Agrobaderium and Chromobaderium species tested. Inactivation rates of the four phages by their homologous antisera were linear up to 90% inactivation. Cross-reactions with heterologous antisera showed weak serological relationships between some of the phages. The latent periods of growth ranged from 80 to 90 minutes to 170–180 minutes. Burst sizes of rhizobia infected by the four phages ranged from 80 to 317 particles per bacterium after an adsorption period of 60 minutes at 30 °C. The optimum pH range was 6.4–7.8. Thermal death points in broth were 51 °C, 53 °C, 61 °C, and 70 °C, respectively, for the four phages.
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