HOST SPECIFICITIES OF FOUR LOTUS RHIZOBIOPHAGES

Abstract

A study was made of the host affinities of four Lotus rhizobiophages for 91 rhizobial strains from 10 Lotus spp., 376 strains of other rhizobia, and 40 strains of species in the genera Agrobacterium and Chromobacterium. No one phage lysed every rhizobial strain of the Lotus spp.; however, all of the phages lysed every strain from Lotus angustissimus. None of the strains from Lotus uliginosus was susceptible. Among rhizobia from the other eight Lotus spp. all strains were lysed by at least one of the four phages. Of the 376 strains of other rhizobia, 28 strains of six plant genera were lysed by one or more of the four Lotus phages. None of the phages lysed any of the strains of species in the genera Agrobacterium and Chromobacterium.