The Activity of A Bacteriostatic Substance in the Reaction Between Bacterial Virus and Host

Abstract

Bz-3-methyltryptophane (B-MT) in concs. as low as 4 micromoles per 1. inhibited growth of Escherichia coli on solid or liquid ammonium lactate medium but not on Difco nutrient agar. The inhibition was reversed at this and higher concs, by l-tryptophane. B-MT at a conc. of 200 micromoles per 1. promoted in 5 min. the adsorption of about 50% of the particles in a mixture of the bac-teriophage T4 and E. coli in ammonium lactate; adsorption in controls without a co-factor was negligible. Virus particles so adsorbed produced plaques on a bacterial smear just as though the co-factor had been l-tryptophane. B-MT had almost the activity of tryptophane as a co-factor in the adsorption reaction between the viruses T4 and T6 and their host.