An extended phage growth cycle in T4 infected A. aerogenes

Abstract

Spheroplasts of Aerobacter aerogenes infected with T4 produce about five times more phage than do spheroplasts of E. coli because they do not lyse at the usual time. This implies a role for the host in cessation of phage synthesis. In 1969 Wais and Goldberg reported that cultures of A. aerogenes spheroplasts infected with urea treated T4 phage particles produced more phage than did similarly infected cultures of E. coli spheroplasts. We thought it strange that phage T4 should grow better in spheroplasts of a resistant host than in its usual host. We now report that the A. aerogenes host supports an extended phage growth cycle resulting in the production of 1000 or more phage in singly infected, isolated spheroplasts. Augmented phage production appears to be due to failure of the phage lysis mechanism to lyse the membrane of the A. aerogenes spheroplast.