A STUDY OF THE DISTRIBUTION AND THE EFFECTS OF BACTERIOPHAGE OF ROOT NODULE BACTERIA IN THE SOIL

Abstract

Bacteriophage for clover nodule bacteria can be found on roots and nodules of all naturally grown clover plants and also in the soil surrounding the roots, but not in soil without clover plants. Alternative hosts for the phage of clover bacteria are pea bacteria, and vice versa. The bacteria and the phage are heterogeneous in the sense that only a proportion of strains of clover bacteria and of pea bacteria are susceptible to lysis by a given race of phage, and only a proportion of races of phage can lyse a given bacterial strain. There does not seem to be any association between the susceptibility of bacterial strains to lysis by phage and any other features such as antigenic structure and effectiveness in nitrogen fixation. There may be an association with avirulence, i.e. inability to infect the host plant. The behavior of phage–bacterial mixtures depends on the surrounding medium. The longevity of phage in soil or in a soil-like medium such as a vermiculite mixture is relatively short, and the effect of phage can be localized so that phage-susceptible bacteria and the phage can exist close to each other without any apparent interaction. However, as long as the phage is present, phage-resistant bacterial mutants are usually present also. The phage-resistant mutants may also be mutants in other respects such as effectiveness in nitrogen fixation. In the presence of weakened phage, bacterial mutants were found to occur that differ from the parent form in effectiveness but resemble it in susceptibility to the phage.