SUMMARY: A halotolerant collagenolytic strain of Achromobacter was converted to sphaeroplasts by growth in the presence of penicillin in sucrose-supplemented medium. The sphaeroplasts could be stabilized by sucrose and CaCl2 and supported phage growth. Sphaeroplasts formed from bacteria incubated for 90 min were competent for transfection with DNA isolated from phage α3. A linear relationship between infective units and DNA concentration was obtained. Prolonged incubation of sphaeroplasts with DNA caused a drop in phage titre.
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