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Abstract
Summary: Strains of lactobacilli were examined for lysogeny after treatment with mitomycin C. Forty strains belonging to 7 species out of 148 strains of 15 species were lysed by mitomycin C. Lysis was strongly dependent upon the concentration of mitomycin C, temperature and the age of the cultures.
Phage-like particles were observed in 31 out of 40 lysates by electron microscopy. Particles from ten lysates – four from Lactobacillus casei B, five from L. casei C and one from L. acidophilus – produced plaques when plated on suitable indicator strains and were thus considered to be active phages. The remaining 21 lysates that contained phage-like particles failed to produce plaques but four of them inhibited the growth of other lactobacilli. It was concluded that the particles in these lysates were defective phages.
Activities, shapes, dimensions and serological properties of the newly induced phage-like particles were also studied.
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