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The BEG Meetings link will continue, but reminders about upcoming meetings will be placed in this section of BEG News. If you know of any meetings that might be of interest to BEG members, please send this information for posting to abedon.1@osu.edu or to "BEG Meetings," Bacteriophage Ecology Group News, care of Stephen T. Abedon, Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, 1680 University Dr., Mansfield, Ohio 44906.

Evergreen International Phage Meeting:

This year's meeting runs from June 7 to June 11 on the campus of McGill University (Montreal, Quebec, Canada). The meeting will cover all aspects of phage biology, from basic mechanisms and molecular biology to phage ecology and phage therapy. This is our default general phage ecology meeting. Be there or be square!

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The BEG Employment / Job Listings page will no longer be maintained. Instead, any job listings will be found in this section of BEG News. If you are looking to fill a bacteriophage-ecology related position or are in search of a bacteriophage-ecology related position, please feel free to advertise as s uch here (there will be no charge, of course). Legitimate information only, please, and BEG News cannot be held responsible for any incorrect information supplied by posters. Send any information for posting to abedon.1@osu.edu or to "BEG Jobs," Bacteriophage Ecology Group News, care of Stephen T. Abedon, Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, 1680 University Dr., Mansfield, Ohio 44906.

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: POSTING DATE: 1-31-2000; AVAILABILITY: IMMEDIATE Post-doctoral position in Salmonella and enterohemorragic E.coli (EHEC) phage ecology and phage therapy: Position available to investigate the natural history, field ecology and diagnostic and/or therapeutic potential of bacteriophages specific for Salmonella typhimurium and EHEC O157, O111, and O26 in the livestock production environment. Will involve both lab and field based research. Ideal candidate will be a PhD microbiologist with experience in isolating and characterizing bacteriophages from the field. Previous work experience with Salmonella and EHEC is not necessary. Two year position with annual extensions possible. Annual salary of approx. $38,000 + benefits. Starting date: negotiable, but prefer between prior to Sept 2000. Interested candidates should contact Jim Keen, Animal Health Research Unit, USMARC, Clay Center, NE 68933; Ph: 402-762-4343 Email: keen@email.marc.usda.gov for additional information

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Submissions are non-editorial items describing or highlighting some aspect of bacteriophage ecology including news pieces, historical pieces, reviews, and write- ups of research. Peer review of submissions is possible and a desire for peer review should be indicated. Send all submissions to abedon.1@osu.edu or to "Submissions", Bacteriophage Ecology Group News, care of Stephen T. Abedon, Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, 1680 University Dr., Mansfield, Ohio 44906. Please send all submissions as Microsoft Word documents, if possible (I'll let you know if I have trouble converting any other doc ument formats), and in English.

"The phage group wasn't much of a group. I mean, it was a group only in the sense that we all communicated with each other. And that the spirit was-open. This was copied straight from Copenhagen, and the circle around Bohr, so far as I was concerned. In fact, the first principle had to be openness. That you tell each other what you are doing and thinking. And that you don't care who has the priority." -Max Delbrück, quoted on p. 42 of Horace Freeland Judson's The Eight Day of Creation, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (1996)

"We are not primarily interested in the destruction of the bacteria, intent on applying what we find to the therapy of infectious diseases caused by bacteria. Nor are we interested, primarily, in devising means to frustrate the growth of the viruses, intent on applying such knowledge ot the therapy of infectious diseases in plants, animals and men caused by viruses. Such motives, noble though they are, are ulterior to our cause." -Max Delbrück, 1946, The Harvey Lectures, p. 163.

"Today, a bacterial virus is a parasitic microbe in ecology, a bacterial organelle during its existence as prophage, a marker on the bacterial chromosome in breeding experiments with lysogenic bacteria, a subgamete for which names are lacking when it transmits lysogeny, a vector of unrelated bacterial organelles, including other prophages, in transduction experiments, and the inciter of an explosive disease of nucleic acid metabolism when it mimics T2. Bacteriophages are all these things, and probably more to be discovered. To ask which is the correct view is to ask what is the proper function of a window: to admit light, to let in air, to keep out wind, to exclude rain, to frame a pleasing landscape, or to pique the peeping Tom." -Alfred Day Hershey, 1957, Bacteriophage T2: parasite or organelle?, The Harvey Lecture, Series LI, 1955-1956, Academic Press, pp. 229-239 (quote is on page 238).

"Our inability to find phenotypes for so many mutants (of the newly completed Caenorhabditis elegans sequence) only reflects our ignorance of life. The advocates of 'modern' molecular biology, many of whom are trained in the art of cloning genes, will need to go back to their friends and colleagues versed in physiology, neurobiology, ecology and population biology; these disciplines will be critical in teasing apart the function of all of those genes. 'Functional genomics' is synonymous with 'biology'-biology against rich tableaux of sequence information. Who does not remember the seminars in which the speaker professed an interest in some biological phenomenon, and then nose-dived into a 40-minute description of gene mapping, cloning and sequencing? With the completion of the genome projects, one senses that these days will soon be over: back to biology." -Ronald H. A. Plasterk, 1999, Hershey heaven and Caenorhabditis elegans, Nature Genetics 21:63-64 (quote is the last paragraph of the article).

• On an Invisible Microbe Antagonistic to the Dysentery Bacillus by Felix d'Herelle
• Obituary: Hansjürgen Raettig - Collector of Bacteriophage References (October 12, 1911 - December 1, 1997)
• Some Quotations

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Letters should consist of comments, short statements, or personal editorials. Send all letters to abedon.1@osu.edu or to "Letters", Bacteriophage Ecology Group News, care of Stephen T. Abedon, Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, 1680 University Dr., Mansf ield, Ohio 44906. Please send all letters in English and all mailed or attached letters as Microsoft Word documents, if possible (I'll let you know if I have trouble converting any other document formats). In addition, to standard letters, BEG receives questions on a regular basis that may be addressed by BEG members. These qu estions are listed below. Anybody interested in answering these questions through BEG News, e-mail me at the following address: abedon.1@osu.edu. Alternatively, answer through the prompt following each question. Please note that these questions have n ot been edited for grammar, spelling, or clarity.

D'Herelle was not a Stalinist

To the editor of the New York Times Magazine,

I am a virologist specializing in bacteriophage taxonomy and electron microscopy and I have founded the "Felix d'Herelle Reference Center for Bacterial Viruses". I attended a bacteriophage meeting in Tbilisi in 1998 and visited the Eliava Institute. I am also an advisor of the Eliava Foundation and I know several of the people mentioned in your article.

First, I enjoyed very much Mr. Osborne's paper. His description of the dire conditions in the Eliava Institute is only too accurate.

What I do not agree with, is d'Herelle's description as an admirer of Stalin. D'Herelle went to Russia in 1933 when this country was actively importing foreign scientists and know-how, on invitation of G. Eliava, his coworker and friend from his time at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. Eliava had founded a bacteriophage institute in Tbilisi. One of d'Herelle's books, "Bacteriophage in the Phenomenon of Recovery", was translated into Russian (Tbilisi, 1935). The introduction, which I have read myself, contains nothing more that the mandatory praise of "socialism". I have seen much worse. The book was dedicated to Stalin, but this appears, in the words of d'Herelle's biographer, as a precondition to publication.

There is an excellent and recent biography of d'Herelle (William C. Summers, "Felix d'Herelle and th Origins of Molecular Biology", Yale University Press, 1999). D'Herelle comes across as extraordinarily neutral and without strongly held views. At most one can say that he was a left-leaning liberal and a materialist. This is a far cry from the ardent Stalinist in your article.

Hans-W. Ackermann, MD, Professor
Department of Medical Biology
Faculty of Medicine
Laval University
Quebec, P.Q., Canada G1K 7P4

No entry.

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Please send any phage images that you would like to present in this section to "Phage Images," The Bacteriophage Ecology Group, care of Stephen T. Abedon, Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, 1680 University Dr., Mansfield, Ohio 44906. Alternatively, you may scan the images yourself and send them as an attachment to abedon.1@osu.edu. Please save all scans in gif or jpg formats and preferably with an image size (in terms of width, height, and kbytes) that will readily fit on a standard web page.

• The Face of the Phage
• Bacteriophage T2 by H.-W. Ackermann
• SSV1-Type Phage
• Saline Lake Bacteriophage - David Bird

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New bacteriophage publications are listed below. Each quarter not-yet-listed publications from the previous two years will be presented along with their abstracts. The indicator "???" denotes, of course, that specific information is not yet in the BEG Bibliography. Please help in the compilation of the BEG Bibliography by supplying any updated information, correcting any mistakes, and, of course, sending the references to your bacteriophage ecology publications, as well as the references to any bacteriophage ecology publications that you know of but which are not yet in the bibliography (send to abedon.1@osu.edu or to "BEG Bibliography," Bacteriophage Ecology Group News, care of Stephen T. Abedon, Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, 1680 University Dr., Mansfield, Ohio 44906). Also, be sure to indicate any listed publications that you feel should not be presented in the BEG Bibliography. This list is also present with available abstracts at the end of BEG News.

1. Longitudinal study on the susceptibility to bacteriophages of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from dairy farms in Trinidad. Adesiyun, A. A., Romain, H. T. (1999). Zentralblatt Fur Veterinarmedizin - Reihe B 46:567-581. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

2. In situ population dynamics of bacterial viruses in a terrestrial environment. Ashelford, K. E., Day, M. J., Bailey, M. J., Lilley, A. K., Fry, J. C. (1999). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 65:169-174. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

3. Characterization of six bacteriophages of Serratia liquefaciens CP6 isolated from the sugar beet phytosphere. Ashelford, K. E., Fry, J. C., Bailey, M. J., Jeffries, A. R., Day, M. J. (1999). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 65:1959-1965. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

4. Reconsidering the relationship between virally induced bacterial mortality and frequency of infected cells. Binder, B. (1999). Aquatic Microbial Ecology 18:207-215. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

5. Rezervoary, interakcie a stabilita genov rezistencie na antibiotika. Syndrom "easy to get--hard to lose". [Reservoirs, interactions and stability of genetic resistance to antibiotics. The "easy to get--hard to lose" syndrome]. Blahova, J., Kralikova, K., Krcmery, V. (1999). CASOPIS LEKARU CESKYCH 138:424-428. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

6. Phage therapy: past history and future prospects. Carlton, R. M. (1999). Archivum Immunologiae et Therapiae Experimentalis 47:267-274. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

7. Evolutionary Reversals During Viral Adaptation to Alternating Hosts. Crill, W. D., Wichman, H. A., Bull, J. J. (2000). Genetics 154:27-37. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

8. Molecular evidence for a new bacteriophage of Borrelia burgdorferi. Eggers, C. H., Samuels, D. S. (1999). Journal of Bacteriology 181:7308-7313. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

9. Bacteriophage-like particles associated with the gene transfer agent of Methanococcus voltae PS. Eiserling, F., Pushkin, A., Gingery, M., Bertani, G. (1999). Journal of General Virology 80:3305-3308. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

10. Characterization of a lytic virus infectious to the bloom-forming microalga Aureococcus anophagefferens (Pelagophyceae). Garry, R. T., Hearing, P., Cosper, E. M. (1998). Journal of Phycology 34:616-621. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

11. Bacteriophages of dairy propionibacteria. Gautier, M., Rouault, A., Herve, C., Sommer, P., eret, V., Jan, G., Fraslin, J. M., Prevot, F., Coste, A. (1999). Lait- 79:93-104. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

12. Viral lysis and bacterivory during a phytoplankton bloom in a coastal water microcosm. Guixa-Boixareu, N., Lysnes, K., Pedros-Alio, C. (1999). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 65:1949-1958. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

13. Preparation of phage-insensitive strains of Tetragenococcus halophila and its application for soy sauce fermentation. Higuchi, T., Uchida, K., Abe, K. (1999). Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry 63:415-417. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

14. Bacterial and viral abundances in hydrothermal event plumes over northern Gorda Ridge. Juniper, S. K., Bird, D. F., Summit, M., Pong Vong, M., Baker, E. T (1998). Deep-Sea Research 45:2739-2749. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

15. Characterization of wild lambdoid bacteriophages: detection of a wide distribution of phage immunity groups and identification of a nus-dependent, nonlambdoid phage group. Kameyama, L., Fernandez, L., Calderon, J., Ortiz-Rojas, A., Patterson, T. A. (1999). Virology 263:100-111. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

16. Genetic selection of phage engineered for receptor-mediated gene transfer to mammalian cells. Kassner, P. D., Burg, M. A., Baird, A., Larocca, D. (1999). Biochemical & Biophysical Research Communications 264:921-928. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

17. Viruses in Antarctic lakes. Kepner, R. L., Wharton, R. A. Jr., Suttle, C. A. (1998). Limnology and Oceanography 43:1754-1761. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

18. Bacteriophages: An altertnative to antibiotics? Lorch, A. (1999). Biotechnology and Development Monitor 39:14-17. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

19. Establishment of bacteriophages in an immobilized cells system used for continuous inoculation of lactococci. Macedo, M. G., Champagne, C. P., Vuillemard, J. C., Lacroix, C. (1999). International Dairy Journal 9:437-445. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

20. Applications of phage resistance in lactic acid bacteria. Moineau, S. (1999). Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 76:377-382. [no abstract]

21. Comparative survival of free shiga toxin 2-encoding phages and Escherichia coli strains outside the gut. Muniesa, M., Lucena, F., Jofre, J. (1999). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 65:5615-5618. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

22. A whole-glove method for the evaluation of surgical gloves as barriers to viruses. Nelson, J. R., Roming, T. A., Bennet, J. K. (1999). American Journal of Contact Dermatitis 10:183-189. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

23. Genetic variation of chlorella viruses: Variable regions localized on the CVK2 genomic DNA. Nishida, K., Kimura, Y., Kawasaki, T., Fujie, M., Yamada, T. (1999). Virology 255:376-384. [no abstract]

24. Breakdown and microbial uptake of marine viruses and other lysis products. Noble, R. T., Fuhrman, J. A. (1999). Aquatic Microbial Ecology 20:1-11. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

25. A Stalinist Antibiotic Alternative. Osborne, L. (2000). New York Times Magazine ???-??? [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

26. Effect of biocides commonly used in the hospital environment on the transfer of antibiotic-resistance genes in Staphylococcus aureus. Pearce, H., Messager, S., Maillard, J. Y. (1999). Journal of Hospital Infection 43:101-107. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

27. Performance of Lactobacillus helveticus spontaneous phage-resistant mutants in hard cheese production. Quiberoni, A., Reinheimer, J., Suarez, J. E. (1998). International Dairy Journal 8:941-949. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

28. Bacterial lysis by phage--a theoretical model. Rabinovitch, A., Zaritsky, A., Fishov, I., Einav, M., Hadas, H. (1999). Journal of Theorectical Biology 201:209-213. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

29. Coliphages and indicator bacteria in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. Ricca, D. M., Cooney, J. J. (1999). Environmental Toxicology 14:404-408. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

30. Development of phage resistant starter strains. Ross, R. P. (1999).5. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

31. Transduction of enteric Escherichia coli isolates with a derivative of Shiga toxin 2-encoding bacteriophage _3538 isolated from Escherichia coli O157:H7. Schmidt, H., Bielaszewska, M., Karch, H. (1999). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 65:3855-3861. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

32. Transduction of multiple drug resistance of Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium DT104. Schmieger, H., Schicklmaier, P. (1999). FEMS Microbiology Ecology 170:251-256. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

33. Isolation of phages and phage typing of Bacillus cereus. Smimizu, M., Inoue, M., Miyazawa, W., Itoh, T. (1998). Japanese Journal of Food Microbiology 15:147-152. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

34. Skuteczne zastosowanie bakteriofagoterapii w ropnym zapaleniu opon mozgowo-rdzeniowych u noworodka. [Successful treatment with bacteriophage in purulent cerebrospinal meningitis in a newborn]. Stroj, L., Weber-Dabrowska, B., Partyka, K., Mulczyk, M., Wojcik, M. (1999). Neurologia I Neuochirurgia Polska 33:693-698. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

35. Giant viruses infecting algae. Van Etten, J, Meints, R. H. (1999). Annual Review of Microbiology 53:447-494. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

36. Algal viruses (Phycodnaviridae). Van Etten, J (1999). pp. 44-50 in Webster, R. G., Granoff, A. (eds.) Encyclopedia of Virology. Academic Press, London. [no abstract]

37. Phycodnaviridae. Van Etten, J. L. (1999). pp. 183-193 Virus Taxonomy - Seventh Report. [no abstract]

38. Surface layer variations affecting phage adsorption on seven Lactobacillus helveticus strains. Ventura, M., Callegari, M. L., Morelli, L. (1999). Annali di Microbiologia ed Enzimologia 49:45-53. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

39. DNA virus contribution to host evolution. Villarreal, L. P. (1999). pp. 391-420 Origin and Evolution of Viruses. Academic Press, London. [no abstract]

40. Isogenic lysogens of diverse shiga toxin 2-encoding bacteriophages produce markedly different amounts of shiga toxin. Wagner, P. L., Acheson, D. W., Waldor, M. K. (1999). Infection and Immunity 67:6710-6714. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

41. Size-specific mortality of lake bacterioplankton by natural virus communities. Weinbauer, M. G., Hoefle, M. G. (1998). Aquatic Microbial Ecology 15:103-113. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

42. Lysogeny and prophage induction in coastal and offshore bacterial communities. Weinbauer, M. G., Suttle, C. A. (1999). Aquatic Microbial Ecology 18:217-225. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

43. Sunlight-induced DNA damage and resistance in natural viral communities. Weinbauer, M. G., Wilhelm, S. W., Suttle, C. A., Pledger, R. J., Mitchell, D. L. (1999). Aquatic Microbial Ecology 17:111-120. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

44. The panda and the phage: compensatory mutations and the persistence of small populations. Whitlock, M., Otto, S. P. (1999). Trends in Ecology and Evolution 14:293-294. [no abstract]

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For your convenience, a list of new publications without associated abstracts (but with links to abstracts) is found above. The list presented below is identical to the above list except that abstracts are included.

1. Longitudinal study on the susceptibility to bacteriophages of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from dairy farms in Trinidad. Adesiyun, A. A., Romain, H. T. (1999). Zentralblatt Fur Veterinarmedizin - Reihe B 46:567-581. A 6-month longitudinal study was conducted on 30 dairy cows in early lactation and their human handlers on six farms across Trinidad. Weekly samples of bulk milk, composite milk and anterior nares and hand swabs from human handlers were collected and cultured for Staphylococcus aureus on Baird-Parker agar (BPA). The susceptibility of S. aureus strains to bacteriophages and the relatedness of strains isolated over the study period were determined. Sixty-three (51.2%) of 123 strains of S. aureus from bulk milk were typable compared with 111 (57.3%) of 194 and 82 (61.7%) of 133 strains isolated from composite milk and human handlers, respectively. The differences were not statistically significant (P > 0.05; chi 2). Bovine phage 42D lysed 3.3% (4 of 123), 16.5% (32 of 194) and 12.0% (16 of 133) of S. aureus strains isolated from bulk milk, composite milk and human handlers, respectively. The differences were statistically significant (P < 0.001; chi 2). Amongst bulk milk isolates of S. aureus, 35 (31.8%) of 110 exhibited relatedness in 11 groups based on their phage patterns and groups. The mean maximum interval between the first and last detection of related S. aureus strains in a group was 11.5 +/- 7.3 weeks. Amongst composite milk strains of S. aureus, 23 (46.0%) of 50, 25 (62.5%) of 40 and 22 (53.7%) of 41 exhibited relatedness on farms IB 2, IB 27 and IC 23, respectively, but the differences were not statistically significant (P > 0.05; chi 2). On farm IB 2, five groups of related strains of S. aureus were detected with a mean maximum interval of detection of 18.2 +/- 8.5 weeks compared to farm IB 27 where five groups of related strains were also observed but with an interval of 13.8 +/- 8.2 weeks. On farm IC 23, a total of seven groups of related S. aureus strains were detected with a mean interval of 8.0 +/- 5.5 weeks. For human strains of S. aureus from farm IB 2, nine (56.3%) of 16 strains isolated from anterior nares exhibited relatedness in three groups with a mean maximum interval of 13.3 +/- 4.7 weeks compared to four (25.0%) of 16 hand swab isolates which exhibited relatedness in two groups with mean interval of detection of 11.0 +/- 1.4 weeks. The differences were not statistically significant (P > 0.05; chi 2). On farm IB 27, for anterior nares isolates, eight (72.7%) of 11 exhibited relatedness in two groups with a mean maximum interval of detection of 20.5 +/- 2.1 weeks compared to hand swab isolates, with six (50.0%) of 12 showing relatedness in two groups and a mean interval of 10.5 +/- 2.1 weeks. It was concluded that dairy cows and their human handlers carried particular strains of S. aureus at various sites for extended periods, which served as continuous sources of contamination of milk and may play a significant role in the occurrence of subclinical mastitis, with an obvious economic impact.

2. In situ population dynamics of bacterial viruses in a terrestrial environment. Ashelford, K. E., Day, M. J., Bailey, M. J., Lilley, A. K., Fry, J. C. (1999). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 65:169-174. Predation by bacteriophages is thought to control bacterial numbers and facilitate gene transfer among bacteria in the biosphere. A thorough understanding of phage population dynamics is therefore necessary if their significance in natural environments is to be fully appreciated. Here we describe the in situ population dynamics of three separate phage populations predating on separate bacterial species, living on the surface of field-grown sugar beet (Beta vulgaris var. Amethyst), as recorded over a 9-month period. The distributions of the three phage populations were different and fluctuated temporally in 1996 (peak density, approximately 10(3) PFU g-1). One of these populations, predating on the indigenous phytosphere bacterium Serratia liquefaciens CP6, consisted of six genetically distinct DNA phages that varied in relative abundance to the extent that an apparent temporal succession was observed between the two most abundant phages, phi CP6-1 and phi CP6-4.

3. Characterization of six bacteriophages of Serratia liquefaciens CP6 isolated from the sugar beet phytosphere. Ashelford, K. E., Fry, J. C., Bailey, M. J., Jeffries, A. R., Day, M. J. (1999). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 65:1959-1965. Six phages (Phi CP6-1 to (Phi CP6-6) that are commonly found in the phytosphere of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris var. Amethyst) were investigated, and their relative impacts on their host (Serratia liquefaciens CP6) were compared. There were fundamental differences between the two most abundant predators of CP6 Phi CP6-1 and Phi CP6-4), Like Phi CP6-2 and Phi CP6-5, Phi CP6-1 belonged to the family Siphoviridae, while Phi CP6-4 exhibited the morphology of the family Podoviridae, The other phages were members of the family Myoviridae, DNA-DNA crosshybridization revealed that Phi CP6-1 and Phi CP6-4 had little common DNA, although all of the other phages exhibited some genetic similarity. Like Phi CP6-2, Phi CP6-3, and Phi CP6-5, Phi CP6-1 was capable of forming a lysogenic association with its host, while Phi CP6-4 and Phi CP6-6 appeared to be entirely virulent. Single-step growth curve experiments revealed that Phi CP6-4 had a much shorter latent period and a smaller burst size than Phi CPC-1. Also, Phi CP6-1 could transduce a number of host chromosomal markers with transfer frequencies of 2.9 x 10(-9) to 3.9 x 10(-7), whereas Phi CP6-4 could not transduce S. liquefaciens CP6 genes. When viewed in the context of the strikingly different temporal niches of these phages, our data provide an insight into how bacteriophage interactions with their hosts might reflect the natural ecology of bacteriophages, Our data also illustrate how the potential for gene transfer changes over time in an environment that supports several different phages.

4. Reconsidering the relationship between virally induced bacterial mortality and frequency of infected cells. Binder, B. (1999). Aquatic Microbial Ecology 18:207-215. The relative contribution of viral lysis to overall mortality in aquatic bacterial populations is often estimated as twice the frequency of infected cells (FIC). The `factor-of-two rule' upon which this estimate is based assumes (1) steady-state conditions, (2) that latent period is equivalent to generation time, and (3) that infected cells are not grazed. FIC values for this calculation are themselves derived from measurements of the frequency of visibly infected cells (FVIC) by the use of a simple conversion factor. A steady-state model was developed to more rigorously define the relationships between FIC, FVIC, and the fraction of mortality from viral lysis (FMVL). This model shows that even under the restrictive assumptions listed above, the factor-of-two rule systematically overestimates FMVL for typically reported values of FVIC. The model also shows that although grazing on infected cells further reduces FMVL for a given estimate of FIC, at the same time such grazing increases FIC for a given measurement of FVIC. In combination, these 2 effects minimize the influence of grazing on the calculation of FMVL from FVIC. Overall, the relationship between FMVL and FVIC is well approximated as follows: FMVL epsilon FVIC/[ gamma ln(2) (1 - epsilon - FVIC)], where gamma = the ratio between the latent period and generation time, and \g?\ = the fraction of the latent period during which viral particles are not yet visible. Using typically observed values of FVIC, and assuming that gamma = 1 (per assumption 2, above) and \g?\ = 0.186 (per literature estimates), the model suggests that, on average, viral lysis accounts for approximately 22% (range: 4.5 to 45%) of total bacterial mortality in a range of aquatic environments, corresponding to a mean overestimate of 24% (range: 4 to 44%) by the factor-of-two rule. Perhaps most importantly, the model shows that calculations of FMVL from FIC or FVIC are very sensitive to changes in the relative length of the latent period ( gamma ) and in the assumed proportion of the latent period during which viral particles are not recognizable ( epsilon ). Constraining these 2 factors would greatly improve the reliability of FMVL calculations.

5. Rezervoary, interakcie a stabilita genov rezistencie na antibiotika. Syndrom "easy to get--hard to lose". [Reservoirs, interactions and stability of genetic resistance to antibiotics. The "easy to get--hard to lose" syndrome]. Blahova, J., Kralikova, K., Krcmery, V. (1999). CASOPIS LEKARU CESKYCH 138:424-428. Enthusiasm after discovery of antibiotics and their use in clinical practice led to presumption that problems of bacterial infections will be soon resolved and forgotten and attention will be turned to other serious problems, such as viral infections or neoplastic diseases. However, instead of disappearance of bacterial infections, bacterial pathogens become more resistant to many antibiotics. The ability of bacterial strains to acquire resistance genes from other bacteria, even of different species, causes increasing stability of resistance of bacteria. Transferable elements--resistance genes--often interact and create changed structures; this enables to preserve, stabilize, or under special conditions, transfer resistance genes. Transferable elements include plasmids, transposons, integrins and gene cassettes. Conjugation of bacteria, transduction by bacteriophages and transformation are the mechanisms by which these elements are transferred. A very significant property of transferable, mobilizable and transposable genetic systems of resistance is their stability and ability to adapt to new hosts. They do not lose it in the absence of antibiotics. The generally pessimistic view on future antibacterial chemotherapy should be a challenge to prevent the existence and spread of resistant strains of bacteria. It is much simpler and more convenient than "quench the fire" later. Best scheme is to stop resistance before it starts.

6. Phage therapy: past history and future prospects. Carlton, R. M. (1999). Archivum Immunologiae et Therapiae Experimentalis 47:267-274. Bacterial viruses (bacteriophages, also called "phages") can be robust antibacterial agents in vitro. However, their use as therapeutic agents, during a number of trials from the 1920s to the 1950s, was greatly handicapped by a number of factors. In part, there were certain limitations inherent in phage physiology (e. g. narrow host range, and rapid clearance from the body); in part there were technological limitations in the era (e.g. lysogeny not yet discovered); but the greatest limitation was the highly inadequate scientific methodologies used by practitioners at the time (e.g., their failure to conduct placebo-controlled studies, to remove endotoxins from the preparations, and to re-confirm phage viability after adding sterilizing agents to the preparations). In recent years, well-controlled animal models have demonstrated that phages can rescue animals from a variety of fatal infections, while non-controlled clinical reports published in Eastern Europe have shown that phages can be effective in treating drug-resistant infections in humans. This encouraging data, combined with the fact that drug-resistant bacteria have become a global crisis, have created a window of opportunity for phage therapy to be tested anew, this time using modem technologies and placebo-controlled designs. If successful, it can be used as a stand-alone therapy when bacteria are fully resistant to antibiotics, and as a valuable adjunct to antibiotics when the bacteria are still susceptible.

7. Evolutionary Reversals During Viral Adaptation to Alternating Hosts. Crill, W. D., Wichman, H. A., Bull, J. J. (2000). Genetics 154:27-37. Experimental adaptation of the bacteriophage fX174 to a Salmonella host depressed its ability to grow on the traditional Escherichia host, whereas adaptation to Escherichia did not appreciably affect growth on Salmonella. Continued host switching consistently exhibited this pattern. Growth inhibition on Escherichia resulted from two to three substitutions in the major capsid gene. When these phages were forced to grow again on Escherichia, fitness recovery occurred predominantly by reversions at these same sites, rather than by second-site compensatory changes, the more frequently observed mechanism in most microbial systems. The affected residues lie on the virion surface and they alter attachment efficiency, yet they occur in a region distinct from a putative binding region previously identified from X-ray crystallography. These residues not only experienced high rates of evolution in our experiments, but also exhibited high levels of radical amino acid variation among X174 and its known relatives, consistent with a history of adaptation involving these sites.

8. Molecular evidence for a new bacteriophage of Borrelia burgdorferi. Eggers, C. H., Samuels, D. S. (1999). Journal of Bacteriology 181:7308-7313. We have recovered a DNase-protected, chloroform-resistant molecule of DNA from the cell-free supernatant of a Borrelia burgdorferi culture. The DNA is a 32-kb double-stranded linear molecule that is derived from the 32-kb circular plasmids (cp32s) of the B. burgdorferi genome. Electron microscopy of samples from which the 32-kb DNA molecule was purified revealed bacteriophage particles. The bacteriophage has a polyhedral head with a diameter of 55 nm and appears to have a simple 100-nm-long tail. The phage is produced constitutively at low levels from growing cultures of some B. burgdorferi strains and is inducible to higher levels with 10 microg of 1-methyl-3-nitroso-nitroguanidine (MNNG) ml(-1). In addition, the prophage can be induced with MNNG from some Borrelia isolates that do not naturally produce phage. We have isolated and partially characterized the phage associated with B. burgdorferi CA-11.2A. To our knowledge, this is the first molecular characterization of a bacteriophage of B. burgdorferi.

9. Bacteriophage-like particles associated with the gene transfer agent of Methanococcus voltae PS. Eiserling, F., Pushkin, A., Gingery, M., Bertani, G. (1999). Journal of General Virology 80:3305-3308. The methanogenic archaeobacterium Methanococcus voltae (strain PS) is known to produce a filterable, DNase-resistant agent (called VTA, for voltae transfer agent), which carries very small fragments (4400 bp) of bacterial DNA and is able to transduce bacterial genes between derivatives of the strain. Examination by electron microscopy of two preparations of VTA that were concentrated and partially purified by different methods showed virus-like particles with isometric heads, about 40 nm in diameter, and with 61 nm long tails. These particles co-sedimented with the minute bacteriophage fX174 in a sucrose density gradient.

10. Characterization of a lytic virus infectious to the bloom-forming microalga Aureococcus anophagefferens (Pelagophyceae). Garry, R. T., Hearing, P., Cosper, E. M. (1998). Journal of Phycology 34:616-621. Aureococcus anophagefferens Hargraves and Sieburth has caused recurring monospecific blooms in Long Island embayments since it was first described in 1985. It was termed the "brown tide," due to the resulting water color, and has had a devastating effect on Long Island's (New York) marine ecosystem. In 1992, a virus that was capable of causing lysis of A. anophagefferens was isolated and maintained in culture. We report on the further characterization of this virus, Aureococcus anophagefferens virus-1 (AaV-1), indicated by a buoyant density of 1.2776 g times mL super(-1) in a CsCl equilibrium gradient. Electron microscopy revealed a phage with a hexagonal head and tail similar to previously described phages. By using adenovirus for calibration, the virus was found to have a head 50-55 nm wide and a tail 70-75 nm long. The viral band was infectious to A. anophagefferens after dialysis. The virus was composed of at least 16 distinct polypeptides ranging in molecular weight from 20 to 230 kDa. The adsorption coefficient for the virus was 7.2 x 10 super(-9) mL times min super(-1), and the burst size was calculated to be 9.4 viruses per A. anophagefferens cell at 20 degree C. Complete lysis of A. anophagefferens occurred with a titer as low as 893 viruses times mL super(-1), and the lower limit of infectivity was 93 viruses times mL super(-1). The virus lost its infectivity between 30 degree and 40 degree C. These results suggest that AaV-1 is highly infectious and that the role of the virus in preventing or ending A. anophagefferens blooms needs further investigation.

11. Bacteriophages of dairy propionibacteria. Gautier, M., Rouault, A., Herve, C., Sommer, P., eret, V., Jan, G., Fraslin, J. M., Prevot, F., Coste, A. (1999). Lait- 79:93-104. Characteristics of 2 types of phages infecting propionic acid bacteria that were isolated from Swiss-type cheeses were examined. One type belonged to group B1 of Bradley's classification and the other was a filamentous phage, the 1st of its type identified in Gram positive bacteria. Diversity, host spectrum and origin of the phages were studied. The phages were detected in raw milk and cheeses, but not in curd or cooked curd. Group 1 phages showed high homology and were probably derived from a common ancestor. All phages showed a very narrow host spectrum. Information on phages infecting Propionibacterium freudenreichii was used in the development of a cloning system for this bacterium. [This paper was presented at the 2nd Symposium on Propionibacteria, which was held in Cork, Republic of Ireland on 25-27 June 1998.]

12. Viral lysis and bacterivory during a phytoplankton bloom in a coastal water microcosm. Guixa-Boixareu, N., Lysnes, K., Pedros-Alio, C. (1999). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 65:1949-1958. The relative importance of viral lysis and bacterivory as causes of bacterial mortality were estimated. A laboratory experiment was carried out to check the kind of control that viruses could exert over the bacterial assemblage in a non-steady-state situation. Virus-like particles (VLP) were determined by using three methods of counting (DAPI [4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole] staining, YOPRO staining, and transmission electron microscopy). Virus counts increased from the beginning until the end of the experiment. However, different methods produced significantly different results. DAPI-stained VLP yielded the lowest numbers, while YOPRO-stained VLP yielded the highest numbers. Bacteria reached the maximal abundance at 122 h (3 x 10 super(7) bacteria ml super(-1)), after the peak of chlorophyll a (80 mu g liter super(-1)). Phototrophic nanoflagellates followed the same pattern as for chlorophyll a. Heterotrophic nanoflagellates showed oscillations in abundance throughout the experiment. The specific bacterial growth rate increased until 168 h (2.6 day super(-1)). The bacterivory rate reached the maximal value at 96 hours (0.9 day super(-1)). Bacterial mortality due to viral infection was measured by using two approaches: measuring the percentage of visibly infected bacteria (%VIB) and measuring the viral decay rates (VDR), which were estimated with cyanide. The %VIB was always lower than 1% during the experiment. VDR were used to estimate viral production. Viral production increased 1 order of magnitude during the experiment (from 10 super(6) to 10 super(7) VLP ml super(-1) h super(-1)). The percentage of heterotrophic bacterial production consumed by bacterivores was higher than 60% during the first 4 days of the experiment; afterwards, this percentage was lower than 10%. The percentage of heterotrophic bacterial production lysed by viruses as assessed by the VDR reached the highest values at the beginning (100%) and at the end (50%) of the experiment. Comparing both sources of mortality at each stage of the bloom, bacterivory was found to be higher than viral lysis at days 2 and 4, and viral lysis was higher than bacterivory at days 7 and 9. A balance between bacterial losses and bacterial production was calculated for each sampling interval. At intervals of 0 to 2 and 2 to 4 days, viral lysis and bacterivory accounted for all the bacterial losses. At intervals of 4 to 7 and 7 to 9 days, bacterial losses were not balanced by the sources of mortality measured. At these time points, bacterial abundance was about 20 times higher than the expected value if viral lysis and bacterivory had been the only factors causing bacterial mortality. In conclusion, mortality caused by viruses can be more important than bacterivory under non-steady-state conditions.

13. Preparation of phage-insensitive strains of Tetragenococcus halophila and its application for soy sauce fermentation. Higuchi, T., Uchida, K., Abe, K. (1999). Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry 63:415-417. Production of _D-10 phage-insensitive mutants of Tetragenococcus halophila D-10, used in industrial fermentation of soy sauce, is reported. Phage contact during selection initially resulted in lysogeny. Subsequently, phage-insensitive mutants were screened by replica plating so that mutant cells did not touch the phage during selection. 2 strains were selected from approx. 150 000. They grew normally in soy sauce mash (moromi) in the presence of phage _D-10, although had a similar extent of adsorption of _D-10, as did the parent strain. Industrial application of these strains in moromi fermentation is discussed.

14. Bacterial and viral abundances in hydrothermal event plumes over northern Gorda Ridge. Juniper, S. K., Bird, D. F., Summit, M., Pong Vong, M., Baker, E. T (1998). Deep-Sea Research 45:2739-2749. This study presents first-time observations of bacterial and viral abundances in hydrothermal event plumes. Two water-column event plumes were formed in conjunction with seismic events and seafloor volcanic eruptions on the northern Gorda Ridge in February--March 1996. Epifluorescence counts of bacteria and viruses were performed on water samples from 3 successive cruises staged in the 10--90 days that followed the onset of seismicity. Relative to background seawater at these 1800--3200 m depths, bacterial abundance was enhanced by 2-3 fold within both event plumes. In contrast, viral numbers were below background seawater values in the younger and more intense of the two event plumes (EP96A), and enhanced in the other (EP96B). Changes in viral abundance may be a secondary response to that of plume bacteria as well as being influenced by particle formation and precipitation within the plumes. Lower bacteria/heat, virus/heat and virus/bacteria ratios in EP96A versus EP96B confirm distinct differences in the microbial response to event plume formation, possibly related to observed differences in plume chemistry.

15. Characterization of wild lambdoid bacteriophages: detection of a wide distribution of phage immunity groups and identification of a nus-dependent, nonlambdoid phage group. Kameyama, L., Fernandez, L., Calderon, J., Ortiz-Rojas, A., Patterson, T. A. (1999). Virology 263:100-111. Temperate phages were isolated from fresh human fecal samples. Lambdoid phages were screened for growth on Nus+ but not Nus- bacteria. Approximately 100 independent lysogens of Nus-dependent phages were constructed and tested for immunity to superinfection by the same Nus-dependent phages. This identified 20 different phage immunity groups, 18 of which belonged to the lambdoid phage family. The DNA from the majority of these phages hybridized with a lambda DNA probe, and approximately 50% were recognized by anti-lambda antibodies. Furthermore most were inducible by UV light. Eleven phage recombinants with different immunity were obtained when a phage from each group was coinfected with lambda or its derivative lambdaBLK20. We also identified another immunity group with 48 members. None of these hybridized with either lambda or phi80 DNA probes nor were they recognized by anti-lambda serum. Most were not induced by UV light treatment, and no recombinants were obtained when crossed with either lambda or lambdaBLK20. Consequently, this group of Nus-dependent phages represent a new nonlambdoid phage family.

16. Genetic selection of phage engineered for receptor-mediated gene transfer to mammalian cells. Kassner, P. D., Burg, M. A., Baird, A., Larocca, D. (1999). Biochemical & Biophysical Research Communications 264:921-928. Although phage display is a powerful way of selecting ligands against purified target proteins, it is less effective for selecting functional ligands for complex targets like living cells. Accordingly, phage display has had limited utility in the development of targeting agents for gene therapy vectors. By adapting a filamentous bacteriophage for gene delivery to mammalian cells, however, we show here that it is possible to screen phage libraries for functional ligands capable of delivering DNA to cells. For example, when targeted with epidermal growth factor (EGF), M13 bacteriophage were capable of delivering a green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene to EGF receptor bearing cells in a ligand-, time-, and phage concentration-dependent manner. The EGF-targeted phage transduced COS-1 cells in a highly specific manner as demonstrated by competition with excess free EGF or alternatively with anti-EGF receptor antibodies. We further demonstrate that EGF-phage can be selected, by their ability to transduce EGF receptor bearing cells from libraries of peptide display phage. When phage were incubated with COS-1 cells, EGF ligand-encoding sequences were recovered by PCR from FACsorted, GFP-positive cells and the EGF-displaying phage were enriched 1 million-fold by four rounds of selection. These data suggest the feasibility of applying molecular evolution to phage gene delivery to select novel cell-specific DNA-targeting ligands. The same approach could be used to select genetically altered phage that are specifically designed and evolved as gene therapy vectors.

17. Viruses in Antarctic lakes. Kepner, R. L., Wharton, R. A. Jr., Suttle, C. A. (1998). Limnology and Oceanography 43:1754-1761. Water samples collected from four perennially ice-covered Antarctic lakes during the austral summer of 1996-1997 contained high densities of extracellular viruses. Many of these viruses were found to be morphologically similar to double-stranded DNA viruses that are known to infect algae and protozoa. These constitute the first observations of viruses in perennially ice-covered polar lakes. The abundance of planktonic viruses and data suggesting substantial production potential (relative to bacterial secondary and photosynthetic primary production) indicate that viral lysis may be a major factor in the regulation of microbial populations in these extreme environments. Furthermore, we suggest that Antarctic lakes may be a reservoir of previously undescribed viruses that possess novel biological and biochemical characteristics.

18. Bacteriophages: An altertnative to antibiotics? Lorch, A. (1999). Biotechnology and Development Monitor 39:14-17. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has become a serious medical problem. Treatment with bacteriophages might pose an effective alternative that has long been known but has been ignored outside the former Soviet Union. The development of phage therapies exemplifies positive as well as negative implications for scientific development that is restricted in its access to the mainstream, English-language dominated scientific community.

19. Establishment of bacteriophages in an immobilized cells system used for continuous inoculation of lactococci. Macedo, M. G., Champagne, C. P., Vuillemard, J. C., Lacroix, C. (1999). International Dairy Journal 9:437-445. Effects of high dilution rates (10-30 h---1) on development of a low phage population inoculated in an immobilized cell technology continuous milk inoculation system were evaluated. Effects of medium on phage and bacterial kinetics of the bioreactor were also examined. Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis CRA-1 and the appropriate bacteriophage _CRA-1 (homologue to L. lactis CRA-1) were used. Lactococci were immobilized in a 2-phase dispersion procedure, in 2.75% kappa-carrageenan/0/25% locust bean gum gel beads which were then used to continuously inoculate rehydrated low heat skim milk powder (9% solids); a synthetic medium (containing lactose, yeast extract, tryptone, MgSO4, KCl, CaCl2 and sodium citrate) was used for some fermentations at a dilution rate of 30 h---1. Acidifying activity tests were performed with fermented medium samples collected from the bioreactor. Even by reduction of phage contamination level from 10-5 to 10-2 pfu/ml and increasing dilution rate to 30 h---1, bacteriophages were not washed out and developed in the continuous immobilized bioreactor system with milk and synthetic media. High dilution rates effective against psychrotrophs and yeasts were not, therefore, effective against phages, so strategies are required to prevent problems associated with phage contamination. In terms of use of immobilized cells for production of lactic starters, it may be that phage contamination could be controlled by use of phage-resistant media and/or conditions which prevent phage contamination. For continuous inoculation, it may be possible to immobilize phage-resistant or multiple phage-unrelated strains, to alleviate effects of contamination in pasteurized milk. Population dynamics of mixed cultures need to be examined.

20. Applications of phage resistance in lactic acid bacteria. Moineau, S. (1999). Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 76:377-382.

21. Comparative survival of free shiga toxin 2-encoding phages and Escherichia coli strains outside the gut. Muniesa, M., Lucena, F., Jofre, J. (1999). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 65:5615-5618. The behavior outside the gut of seeded Escherichia coli O157:H7, naturally occurring E. coli, somatic coliphages, bacteriophages infecting O157:H7, and Shiga toxin 2 (Stx2)-encoding bacteriophages was studied to determine whether the last persist in the environment more successfully than their host bacteria. The ratios between the numbers of E. coli and those of the different bacteriophages were clearly lower in river water than in sewage of the area, whereas the ratios between the numbers of the different phages were similar. In addition, the numbers of bacteria decreased between 2 and 3 log units in in situ survival experiments performed in river water, whereas the numbers of phages decreased between 1 and 2 log units. Chlorination and pasteurization treatments that reduced by approximately 4 log units the numbers of bacteria reduced by less than 1 log unit the numbers of bacteriophages. Thus, it can be concluded that Stx2-encoding phages persist longer than their host bacteria in the water environment and are more resistant than their host bacteria to chlorination and heat treatment.

22. A whole-glove method for the evaluation of surgical gloves as barriers to viruses. Nelson, J. R., Roming, T. A., Bennet, J. K. (1999). American Journal of Contact Dermatitis 10:183-189. BACKGROUND: Today, because of the wide variety of infectious agents encountered in the health care environment, clinicians must be particularly concerned about the potential for small-sized virus penetration through glove defects. OBJECTIVE: To describe a method for testing gloves that evaluates the entire glove and allows for detection of low levels of virus penetration. Ten sets of 10 different gloves from 4 manufacturers were evaluated using this method. METHODS: Barrier properties were evaluated using the bacteriophage, phiX174. Gloves were filled with surfactant solution placed in flasks containing 10(6) viruses per mL. Flasks were agitated at 37 degrees C +/- 2 degrees C and assayed for 180 minutes. RESULTS: Virus penetration was detected in 8% of the 100 gloves tested using the quantitative assay. The qualitative assay determined that 14% of the gloves tested allowed penetration.

23. Genetic variation of chlorella viruses: Variable regions localized on the CVK2 genomic DNA. Nishida, K., Kimura, Y., Kawasaki, T., Fujie, M., Yamada, T. (1999). Virology 255:376-384.

24. Breakdown and microbial uptake of marine viruses and other lysis products. Noble, R. T., Fuhrman, J. A. (1999). Aquatic Microbial Ecology 20:1-11. To understand the roles of marine viruses in marine microbial food webs, it is important to determine rates and mechanisms of virus degradation and subsequent uptake of degraded virus material and other cell lysis products by heterotrophic marine bacteria. We radiolabeled and concentrated viruses and viral lysis products from either pure cultures (³H) or natural communities (³H and ³³P) and added them to seawater samples of differing trophic status from coastal (mesotrophic) and offshore (oligotrophic) California waters and French Mediterranean waters (oligotrophic). Rates of degradation were determined by the loss of high molecular weight radiolabel over time and the fate of the degraded material (microbial uptake or accumulation in low molecular weight pools) was followed by size fractionation and/or acid extraction. Preliminary experiments with ³H-labeled, single-stranded RNA phage MS2 and marine phage H11/1 demonstrated that MS2 degraded significantly faster in coastal Santa Monica Bay seawater (2.5 ± 0.6% h^-1), than the marine phage, H11/1 (0.99 ± 0.1% h^-1). For labeled virus material from natural populations, rates of degradation were slower in oligotrophic waters (ranges from 1.0 to 3.3% h^-1) than in mesotrophic waters (ranges from 4.9 to 6.0% h^-1), corresponding to turnover rates of 1 to 4 d for this material. Degradation rates of labeled virus material are likely underestimates, because during preparation, degradation and uptake are continually occurring, resulting in accumulation of the less reactive products. The proportion of radiolabeled material taken up by microbes was greatest in oligotrophic waters, especially in the phosphate-limited Villefranche Bay, France, where most of the ³³PO₄-labeled material was taken up in less than 7 h. In contrast, the majority of degraded ³H-labeled material was not accumulated into biomass, and in 3 of 4 samples, accumulation was hardly detectable. The results suggest that viruses and lysis products are labile and turn over relatively rapidly, but often may not be efficiently incorporated into bacterial biomass.

25. A Stalinist Antibiotic Alternative. Osborne, L. (2000). New York Times Magazine ???-??? A hoary Soviet method for fighting infections may prove invaluable in an age of antibiotic resistance. Maybe that's why pharmaceutical companies are flocking to a remote laboratory in Tbilisi.

26. Effect of biocides commonly used in the hospital environment on the transfer of antibiotic-resistance genes in Staphylococcus aureus. Pearce, H., Messager, S., Maillard, J. Y. (1999). Journal of Hospital Infection 43:101-107. The effect of sub-minimal inhibitory concentrations of biocides, commonly used in the hospital environment, on the conjugation and transduction of plasmid pWG613 was investigated in three strains of Staphylococcus aureus. The highest transfer frequency was obtained in the conjugation experiments. A low concentration of povidone-iodine was found to significantly reduce transfer frequency by 10-fold in S. aureus SAU3/13136 mating, while other biocides had no effect at low concentrations. Cetrimide (0.0001%) was found to increase significantly transduction efficiency in S. aureus RF2 when the biocide was included in the recovery media. A low concentration of chlorhexidine or povidone-iodine reduced transduction efficiency in the same recipient. This study showed that reduction in transduction efficiency was caused by the direct effect of biocides on the recipient strains rather than on the phage 80 alpha particles.

27. Performance of Lactobacillus helveticus spontaneous phage-resistant mutants in hard cheese production. Quiberoni, A., Reinheimer, J., Suarez, J. E. (1998). International Dairy Journal 8:941-949. From the strain Lactobacillus helveticus ATCC 15807, a total of 66 clones were isolated using the lytic phages hv and ATCC 15807-B1. Phenotypic parameters related to their phage resistance capacity (efficiency of plaquing, phage resistance stability, lysogeny and adsorption rates) were determined. The morphological, biochemical (sugar fermentation patterns) and technological (acidifying power, proteolytic activity and slime production) characteristics of the isolates were also studied. Phage resistance stability was a variable property among the isolates but a high level of resistance was exhibited as quantified by the efficiency of plaquing. Furthermore, a total absence of acquired lysogeny was demonstrated. The phage-resistant variants were completely or partially unable to bind phages and did not show differences with Lb. helveticus ATCC 15807 in their biochemical characteristics. However, the technological properties (acidifying powers and proteolytic activities) were heterogeneously distributed among the mutants. The variant RB1-28 (isolated under selective pressure of the phage ATCC 15807-B1) was evaluated for the technological performance in Sardo cheese production in comparison with Lb. helveticus ATCC 15807. There were no significant differences between the two types of cheeses, taking in consideration physicochemical parameters (proteolysis level, dry matter, total and soluble proteins, moisture), microbiological counts or sensory analysis. These phage-resistant variants could be employed in starter strain rotation programs for cheesemaking.

28. Bacterial lysis by phage--a theoretical model. Rabinovitch, A., Zaritsky, A., Fishov, I., Einav, M., Hadas, H. (1999). Journal of Theorectical Biology 201:209-213. The similarity to materials corrosion is invoked to develop a model for phage-infected bacterial lysis based on the statistics of extremes. The importance of cell size, envelope thickness and lysozyme eclipse time on the final probability distribution of lysis is considered. Experiments are suggested to test the model.

29. Coliphages and indicator bacteria in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. Ricca, D. M., Cooney, J. J. (1999). Environmental Toxicology 14:404-408. Surface water was tested for two bacterial and two coliphage indicators of fecal pollution at four sites in Boston Harbor, MA over 1 year. Of 108 samples tested, somatic coliphages, fecal coliforms, enterococci, and F-specific phages were present in 107, 105, 73, and 58 water samples, respectively. The means of all samples, per 100 mL, were 195.6 pfu (range: 0-1833) for somatic coliphages, 101.3 cfu (0-2670) for fecal coliforms, 20.0 pfu (0-261) for F-specific phages, and 3.1 cfu (0-32) for enterococci. Somatic coliphages and fecal coliforms were more prevalent indicators of fecal pollution than enterococci and F-specific phages. No indicator correlated well with any of the others. No statistically significant difference in phage numbers was found between samples taken in summer and winter. No correlation was found between salinity and any indicator. There was no increase in counts of any indicator due to localized input from two marinas.

30. Development of phage resistant starter strains. Ross, R. P. (1999).5. Bacteriophage infection of starter cultures causes significant losses in the manufacture of cheese and other fermented dairy products. In this study, a number of bacteriophage resistant strains were developed using molecular genetic techniques. 3 new natural plasmid (DNA)-associated bacteriophage resistance systems were identified. The detailed genetic make-up of the phage resistance plasmid (pMRC01) was elucidated. Bacteriophages currently evolving in the industrial cheesemaking environment were monitored to facilitate the choice of phage resistance systems for use in commercial starter cultures which can more effectively target the problematic phage types. 2 highly virulent phages targeting important cheese starters were identified in the industrial cheesemaking environment. A reliable food-grade method to facilitate transfer of phage resistance systems to cheesemaking starter strains was developed, based on bacteriocin immunity-linked phage resistance. Phage resistant cheese starter cultures were developed through natural selection and by molecular manipulation using phage genetic resistance plasmids. The phage resistance plasmid pMRC01 was introduced into 31 cheese starter strains. All phage resistant starter strains resulting from the strain improvement research were evaluated under stringent laboratory conditions. Selected strains were then evaluated in pilot-scale Cheddar cheese trials and were subsequently validated in commercial cheese plants.

31. Transduction of enteric Escherichia coli isolates with a derivative of Shiga toxin 2-encoding bacteriophage _3538 isolated from Escherichia coli O157:H7. Schmidt, H., Bielaszewska, M., Karch, H. (1999). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 65:3855-3861. [Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains have emerged as serious foodborne pathogens.] In this study, the ability of a detoxified derivative of a Stx2-encoding bacteriophage to infect and lysogenize enteric E. coli strains and to develop infectious progeny from these lysogenized strains was investigated. The stx2 gene of E. coli O157:H7 strain 3538/95 (a human isolate) was replaced by the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (cat) gene from plasmid pACYC184. Phage _3538(Deltastx2::cat) was isolated after induction of E. coli O157:H7 strain 3538/95 with mitomycin. A variety of strains of enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC), STEC, enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) and E. coli from stool microflora of healthy individuals were infected with _3538(Deltastx2::cat) and plaque formation and lysogenic conversion of wild-type E. coli strains were investigated. With the exception of 1 EIEC strain, none of the E. coli strains supported formation of plaques when used as indicators for _3538(Deltastx2::cat). However, 2 of 11 EPEC, 11 of 25 STEC, 2 of 7 EAEC, 1 of 3 EIEC and 1 of 6 E. coli isolates from stool microflora integrated phage [DNA] in their chromosomes and expressed resistance to chloramphenicol. Following induction with mitomycin, these lysogenic strains released infectious particles of _3538(Deltastx2::cat) that formed plaques on a lawn of E. coli laboratory strain C600. Results demonstrate that _3538(Deltastx2::cat) was able to infect and lysogenize particular enteric strains of pathogenic and nonpathogenic E. coli and that the lysogens produced infectious phage progeny. [It is concluded that] Stx-encoding bacteriophages are able to spread stx genes among enteric E. coli strains.

32. Transduction of multiple drug resistance of Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium DT104. Schmieger, H., Schicklmaier, P. (1999). FEMS Microbiology Ecology 170:251-256. Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium, definite type (DT)104, has emerged as a new epidemic strain since 1990 and is characterized by multiple drug resistance of various combinations. In order to understand how resistance genes have spread, the possibility of transferring the resistance genes of DT104 strains to various recipients was examined. Transduction occured with the generalized transducing phage ES18 and with phage PDT104 (this phage resides as a prophage in all of the DT104 strains analysed so far). This implies that all DT104 strains carry in their genome a potent vehicle for horizontal transfer and spread of resistance genes. Resistance genes were found to be tightly clustered in the DT104 chromosome.

33. Isolation of phages and phage typing of Bacillus cereus. Smimizu, M., Inoue, M., Miyazawa, W., Itoh, T. (1998). Japanese Journal of Food Microbiology 15:147-152. A set of phages for typing Bacillus cereus was developed. 96 phages were isolated from 85 soil samples using B. cereus (of 36 H-serovars) as indicator strains. 11 phages were selected based on their stability and host range, and could be classified into 5 groups. 5 phages (_a, _b, _c, _d and _e) were used as a typing phage set. At routine test dilution (RTD) and 100 x RTD, 36 B. cereus strains were typed into 17 phage patterns (83.3% typeable) and 11 phage patterns (100% typeable), 25 isolates from powdered fish meal samples were typed into 9 phage patterns (48% typeable) and 9 phage patterns (100% typeable), and 100 isolates from soil samples were typed into 24 phage patterns (79% typeable) and 14 phage patterns (100% typeable), respectively. [From En summ.]

34. Skuteczne zastosowanie bakteriofagoterapii w ropnym zapaleniu opon mozgowo-rdzeniowych u noworodka. [Successful treatment with bacteriophage in purulent cerebrospinal meningitis in a newborn]. Stroj, L., Weber-Dabrowska, B., Partyka, K., Mulczyk, M., Wojcik, M. (1999). Neurologia I Neuochirurgia Polska 33:693-698. The subject of this report is the case of purulent meningitis in new-born caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae. As the intensive antibiotic therapy turned out to be ineffective phage therapy was applied. Oral administration of specific phage preparate for the period of 5 weeks resulted in complete sterilization of cerebrospinal fluid and unquestionable improvement of child's health. However, after several ventriculopunctures some complications appeared (haemorrhage into central nervous system, extra infection). They were treated in standard way. Because of increasing internal hydrocephalus and necessity of operation, the child was sent to suitable hospital for further treatment.

35. Giant viruses infecting algae. Van Etten, J, Meints, R. H. (1999). Annual Review of Microbiology 53:447-494. Paramecium bursaria chlorella virus (PBCV-1) is the prototype of a family of large, icosohedral, plaque-forming, double-stranded-DNA-containing viruses that replicate in certain unicellular, eukaryotic chlorella-like green algae. DNA sequence analysis of its 330,742-bp genome leads to the predicition that this phycodnavirus has 376 protein encoding genes and 10 transfer RNA genes. The predicited gene products of ~40% of these genes resemble proteins of known function. the chlorella viruses have other features that distinguish them from most viruses, in addition to thier large genome size. These feature include: (a) The viruses encode multiple DNAmethyltransferases and DNA site-specific endonucleases; (b) PBCV-1 encodes at least part, if not the entire machinery to glycosylate its proteins; (c) PBCV-1 has a tleast two types of introns-a self-splicing intron in a transcription factor-like gene and a splicesomal processed type of intron in its DNA polymerase gene. Unlike the chlorella viruses, large double-stranded-DNA-containing viruses that infect marine, filamentous brown algae have a circular genome and a lysogenic phase in their life cycle.

36. Algal viruses (Phycodnaviridae). Van Etten, J (1999). pp. 44-50 in Webster, R. G., Granoff, A. (eds.) Encyclopedia of Virology. Academic Press, London.

37. Phycodnaviridae. Van Etten, J. L. (1999). pp. 183-193 Virus Taxonomy - Seventh Report.

38. Surface layer variations affecting phage adsorption on seven Lactobacillus helveticus strains. Ventura, M., Callegari, M. L., Morelli, L. (1999). Annali di Microbiologia ed Enzimologia 49:45-53. Previous studies have demonstrated that Lactobacillus helveticus CNRZ 892 is covered by a protein of the S-layer type. The gene coding for this protein was isolated and sequenced. The central region of S-layer protein of this strain was shown to play a role of receptor for the virulent phage CNRZ 832-B1. Data are presented on S-layer encoding genes isolated from 7 L. helveticus strains showing differing sensitivity to the CNRZ 832-B1 phage. Sequence analysis of genes isolated from the phage sensitive strains ATCC 12046, ATCC 15009 and CNRZ 303 showed, in the central part, an identical nucleotide sequence with that obtained from CNRZ 892. In S-layer gene sequences of phage resistant strains, unable to adsorb the phage CNRZ 832-B1 (CNRZ 35, I160, HLMI and M696), point mutations were localized in the same region as the CNRZ 892 isogenic mutants. Data suggest that a change in _1 amino acid in this area seems to affect phage adsorption. [From En summ.]
    DE

39. DNA virus contribution to host evolution. Villarreal, L. P. (1999). pp. 391-420 Origin and Evolution of Viruses. Academic Press, London.

40. Isogenic lysogens of diverse shiga toxin 2-encoding bacteriophages produce markedly different amounts of shiga toxin. Wagner, P. L., Acheson, D. W., Waldor, M. K. (1999). Infection and Immunity 67:6710-6714. We produced isogenic Escherichia coli K-12 lysogens of seven different Shiga toxin 2 (Stx2)-encoding bacteriophages derived from clinical Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) isolates of serotypes O157:H7, O145, O111, and O83 to assess the variability among these phages and determine if there were phage-related differences in toxin production. Phage genomic restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) and superinfection resistance studies revealed significant differences among these phages and allowed the seven phages to be placed into five distinct groups. Experiments revealed striking differences in spontaneous phage and toxin production that were correlated with the groupings derived from the RFLP and resistance studies. These results suggest that the genotype of the Stx2 prophage can influence the level of phage release and toxin expression by host strains and thus may be relevant to STEC pathogenesis

41. Size-specific mortality of lake bacterioplankton