ELECTRON MICROSCOPY AND SEROLOGY OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS PHAGES

Abstract

Purified preparations of 8 staphylococcus phages were examined in the electron microscope. Two distinct types of particles were seen both in air-dried and frozen-dried preparations. The size and shape of frozen-dried particles differed markedly from the corresponding air-dried particles. The phages within each type were shown to be serologically related, but the two types were unrelated. When frozen-dried, phages designated as serotype A had polygonally shaped heads of size 80 by 36 m[mu] and tails 270 by 15 m[mu]. The corresponding dimensions for serotype B were 53 by 53 m[mu] (head dimensions) and 160 by 10 m[mu] (tail dimensions).