Characteristics of a Thermophilic Bacteriophage.

Abstract

Summary 1. A new thermophilic phage host system has been studied and described. It has been designated a thermophilic phage because the greatest number of infectious units was produced at 65°C, above or below which the number of particles was considerably less. 2. Phage is adsorbed very slowly, the maximum amount taken up being 85% in 30 minutes. 3. Thermal inactivation studies indicate that inactivation does not follow a monomolecular reaction but the rate decreases with time. This bacteriophage is not as vulnerable to heat when suspended in lysate or gelatin as it is in distilled water or phosphate buffer and is much more resistant to heat than other previously reported mesophilic or thermophilic phages.