Abstract
SUMMARY: Bacteriophages, lytic for wild-type strains of Clostridium botulinum and different from the phages that can be induced from these lysogenic cultures, were isolated from bottom sediments of an inland bay and its tributary river. The host ranges indicated seven phages, in three morphological groups: three were tailless phages, three had hexagonal head and sheathless flexible tail, and one had a sheathed tail. The hosts were restricted to non-proteolytic C. botulinum strains producing type B, E, or F toxin and to a few of the non-toxigenic clostridia which resemble C. botulinum type E. None of the phages was active on proteolytic C. botulinum producing type A, B, or F toxin or cultures producing type C or D toxin. The host ranges of the phages are considered to be part of the evidence that the C. botulinum types, as defined at present, based on the serological specificity of the toxins, obscure the natural relationships among the strains of the species.
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