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The Use of Phage to Study Causes of Loss of Viability of Escherichia coli in Aerosols
Abstract
Summary: This paper presents data to show that loss of viability of Escherichia coli and phage in an aerosol was the consequence of at least three mechanisms. Phage T7 was used and shown to be unstable when sprayed into air. When previously adsorbed to E. coli the aerosol stability of phage T7 appeared to be dependent upon its stage of development in its host. The host E. coli strain B in an aerosol was itself subject to two stresses which operated through different mechanisms within the bacterium: (i) a relative humidity stress having its locus of action such that colony formation and the production of phage T7 were both impaired; (ii) an air stress such that colony formation was impaired but that the bacterium was able to produce phage T7.
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© Society for General Microbiology 1966