Bacteriophage Ecology Group (BEG) News
	Dedicated to the ecology and evolutionary biology of the parasites of unicellular organisms (UOPs)
	© Stephen T. Abedon (editor)
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© Phage et al.	July 1, 1999 issue (volume 1)

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Editorials should be written on subjects relevant to The Bacteriophage Ecology Group as an organization, BEG News (either the concept or the current issue), or the science of Bacteriophage Ecology. While my assumption is that I will be writing the bulk of these editorials, I wish to encourage as many people as possible to seek to relieve me of this duty, as often as possible. Additionally, I welcome suggestions of topics that may be addressed. Please address all correspondence to abedon.1@osu.edu or to "Editorials," 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 document formats), and in English.

The Bacteriophage Ecology Group (BEG) was born during the Summer of 1995 at the biannual Population Biology of Microorganisms Gordon Conference. The original group consisted of myself (Steve Abedon) plus a number of graduate students and post-docs including Brendan Bohannan, Greg Krukonis, Sharon Messenger, John Mittler, Tom Palys, and Ing-Nang Wang. At that moment I was in transition from a somewhat unsuccessful post-doc at the University of Pennsylvania (studying AIDS immunology of all things) to a tenure-track position in the department of Microbiology at The Ohio State University. Also at the time, I had a vague idea that service toward the profession counted for something, and that taking on a project such as BEG could contribute toward my college's service expectations.

Of course, as with all reasonably OK ideas, this one had its genesis long before the Summer of 1995. In fact, BEG's roots may be found in two locales. First, there is the obvious precedent of Max Delbrnck's Phage Group as a means of motivating camaraderie among researchers and to promote outstanding phage research ("Phage Group" à "Bacteriophage Ecology Group," get it?). Second, by working with mentors highly influenced by the phage group--Harris Bernstein, the man who (by some tangled turn of logic that I don't fully understand) gave his mother's "name" to the amber mutation (amber is the English translation of the German word "bernstein"), was my Ph.D. advisor and John Spizizen, Emory Ellis' first post-doc, was both my department head and on my Ph.D. committee--I found myself immersed in bacteriophagy but nevertheless isolated from bacteriophage ecologists. This isolation was perhaps more one of attitude than of geography since a mere one mile south of the Bernstein laboratory there were not one but two laboratories actively engaged in bacteriophage ecology research: Conrad Istock's group with their ecology of bacteriophages in soil and Chuck Gerba's applied bacteriophage ecology. As far as I am aware, none of us were extensively talking with each other! This travesty, combined with my ongoing frustration, during the late 1980s, early 1990s as I attempted to proselytize the relevance of ecology to molecular geneticists (my supposed Ph.D. area of concentration), resulted in an observation that would eventually become BEG: Bacteriophage ecologists seem to interact with just about anyone but other bacteriophage ecologists. The surprisingly large concentration of bacteriophage ecologists at the 1995 Gordon conference made me realize that not only should this sad situation change, but that it could.

Additionally, in the simpler systems of biology, it should be possible for the proximate causation people (e.g., molecular biologists, physiologists, and biochemists) to talk to the ultimate causation people (ecologists and evolutionists), and vice versa, and there aren't too many biological systems that are much simpler than bacteriophages. Thus, my agenda is both broader and more ambitious than just the organization and development of bacteriophage ecology: I additionally hope to merge bacteriophagy into a coherent whole. Or, more precisely, remerge these two camps since, in fact, the roots of bacteriophagy can be found in an organismal biology that embodied a concern for both philosophies (see, for example, the translation of FTlix d'Herelle, 1917, below).

BEG, from the start, was a child of the internet. BEG began with e-mail but by July of 1996 consisted of a web site. The bulk of the work involved in getting this web site into its current form began in the following months as a catharsis aimed at getting me past the dual crises of my mother's death (as well as both of her parents, my grandparents) and my ongoing inability to complete the set up of my laboratory (the most humorous delay involved the loss of my centrifuge during its shipment when a box containing a motorcycle apparently fell upon it). Part of this development included putting on line my collection of bacteriophage ecology references that I had been collecting and assembling since my graduate-school days. We are now up to 2344 references in this bibliography! Milestones in the further development of the BEG site included the incorporation of a search engine for these references (late Summer, 1998) and my obtaining the www.phage.org URL (ditto). These two events are correlated since it was my need to run the search engine on a Windows-based machine that forced me off of our (Unix) campus web server (now used as a mirror site) and it was my frustration employing an IP address for this new site, rather than an URL (plus my dislike of long URLs, e.g., www.mansfield.ohio-state.edu/~sabedon/), that motivated me to purchase www.phage.org. Right from that start BEG has also proudly emphasized bacteriophage ecologists and currently our membership consists of 40 individuals. My guess is that this represents about half of the world's bacteriophage ecologists. Where/who are the rest of you?

If creating a web presence for bacteriophage ecology represented phase II of BEG, then here allow me to introduce phase III: Bacteriophage Ecology Group News. BEG News represents a continuation of our efforts to forge bacteriophage ecology (indeed, all of bacteriophagy) into a cohesive discipline. My hope is to publish BEG News quarterly, as a single web page, with issues put to rest with whatever I have written or received as of July 1, October 1, January 1, or April 1. I envisage BEG News as a means of introducing BEG members to new members; to publicize newly published research, newly discovered links, and new features found on the BEG site; to remind people of upcoming meetings, to advertise (for free, of course) job positions available as well as job positions wanted; etc... Most important, though, is to foster communication between all of us. Toward that latter end, I would like to highly encourage the submission of material for publication in BEG News. For example, we all would like to hear of any developments that are relevant to phage ecology and those of you that are closest to these developments should consider writing up short articles. We additionally would appreciate the submission of notes on relevant bacteriophage ecology research that, for whatever reason, may not be published elsewhere or in a timely fashion. In other words, people, lets start talking to each other!

BEG News will be posted as it is drafted and suggestions as well editorial comments are welcome from all. Any material not completed by the quarterly deadlines will be scheduled for tentative publication in the subsequent issue. As usual, send any materials to me at abedon.1@osu.edu (microdude+@osu.edu works just as well). Please send all submissions as Microsoft Word documents if possible (I'll let you know if I have trouble converting any other document formats), and in English. I anxiously look forward to everybody's participation.

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The BEG members list can be found on the BEG home page. As we add new members, these individuals will be introduced in this section. Note that, in fact, there are two ways of "joining" BEG. One, the traditional way, is to have your name listed on the web page and on the list server. The second, the non-traditional way, is to have your name only listed on the list server. The latter I refer to as "non-members" on that list. Members, i.e., individuals listed on the BEG home page, should be limited to individuals who are actively involved in science and who can serve as a phage ecology resource to interested individuals. If you have an interest in phage ecology but no real expertise in the area, then you should join as a non-member. To join as a member, please contact BEG using the following link: abedon.1@osu.edu. Include:

• your name
• your e-mail address
• your snail-mail address
• the URL of your home page (if you have one)
• a statement of whether or not you are the principal investigator
• a statement of your research interests (or phage ecology interests)
• a list of your phage ecology references, if any

Note that it is preferable that you include the full reference, including the abstract if the reference is not already present in the BEG bibliography. Responsibility of members includes keeping the information listed on the BEG members list up to date including supplying on a reasonably timely basis the full references of your new phage ecology publications. Reprints can also be sent to The Bacteriophage Ecology Group, care of Stephen T. Abedon, Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, 1680 University Dr., Mansfield, Ohio 44906. To join BEG as a non-member, please contact BEG using the following link: abedon.1@osu.edu and minimally include your name and e-mail address.

As follows is a complete list of current members.

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Links relevant to The Bacteriophage Ecology Group fall into a number of categories (e.g., see Bacteriophage Ecology Links on The Bacteriophage Ecology Group home page). Listed below are those links that overtly deal with phage ecology issues. With each issue of BEG News this list will be included, in toto, but updated with new links and with no-longer-working links both clearly indicated. If you know of a link that should be included on this page, or the whereabouts of a now-dead link, please let me know.

• Assessment of MS2 Bacteriophage Adsorption to Koch Membrane
• Bacteriophage Ecology Bibliography
• Bacteriophages (an overview)
• BioVir Laboratories (an environmental testing laboratory)
• Determination of Optimal Conditions for Bacteriophage Lysis of Janthinobacterium lividum Broth Cultures
• The effect of phosphate status on virus populations during a mesocosm study
• G. Eliava Institute of Bacteriophage (Tbilisi)
• Host Interactions and Growth Strategy of Aquatic Bacteriophages
• How the cholera bacterium got its virulence
• Lactobacillus Bacteriophage, Lay Discussion
• The Microbe Zoo | Dirtland | House of Horrors [featuring the strangler fungus, Vampirococcus and Bdellovibrio]
• MS2 Inactivation by Chlorine during Microgravity
• Nature of Things - The Virus that Cures [10/29/98 CBC TV broadcast]
• Optimal Conditions for Bacteriophage Lysis of Janthinobacterium lividum
• PhageBiotics Foundation
• Phage Therapeutics, Inc.
• Phage Therapy
• Pseudomonas Transduction in Wild (Fresh Water)
• Pseudolysogeny
• Return of a Killer [11/2/98 U.S. News and World Report article on phage therapy]
• Sunlight-induced DNA damage and in marine viral communities
• Tbilisi Institute for Bacteriophage
• The Curious Microbe: Bdellovibrio
• The Ecology of Computer Viruses
• The Isolation of T-Even Phages
• The Virus that Cures

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In this section I will highlight new or updated features of the BEG site. If you have any ideas of how either the BEG site or BEG News might be improved, please let me know.

new organization for BEG links:

In the course of putting together the New Links section of BEG News the links list on the BEG home page has been divided into a number of separate categories (Bacteriophage Ecology Links, Old-But-Still-Functional Links, Other Phage-Related Sites, Phage Books, Additional Sites of Possible Relevance to Phage Ecology, Dead Links, and Sites with Links to BEG). This change in emphasis and organization frees up the core bacteriophage ecology section to consider just those links that overtly deal with bacteriophage ecology (e.g., the list presented here under New Links). If your site should be included in any of these categories, but isn't, please let me know.

Raettig Pre-1966 Searchable Bibliography:

Since early this year, Jocelyn Witter has been steadily adding to the Raettig Pre-1966 Searchable Bibliography, working as a work-study student for me (S.T.A.). The Raettig Pre-1966 Bibliography consists of an estimated greater-than-95-percent-complete listing of all of the pre-1966 bacteriophage references, as assembled and then published in 1958 and 1967 by Dr. Med. Hansjnrgen Raettig (Bakteriophagie 1917 bis 1956 and Bakteriophagie 1957-1965, respectably, Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart). There are a total of 11,405 numbered references in these volumes, with each publication consisting of approximately half of references plus a companion volume consisting of a detailed index (in German in the first volume and in both German and in English in the second). Our near-term goal is the enter the entire reference list and then to present the list in a searchable format, just as the BEG bibliography is currently presented. Note that the Raettig bibliography will be updated periodically (as data entry progresses; currently we have the first 1057 references entered). To search the incomplete database, choose the Raettig Pre-1966 option under "Search". In a subsequent issue of BEG News we hope to present a history of the Raettig bibliography as well as detailed directions on how to optimally use all of the BEG bibliographies.

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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.

Microbial Population Biology Gordon Research Conference:

The biannual Microbial Population Biology Gordon Research Conference will be held July 18 through July 23, 1999, at Plymouth State College in Plymouth, New Hampshire. A list of sessions, speakers, and session chairs is available on the web. Don't forget your sunscreen, sunglasses, and bathing suits!

Evergreen International Phage Meeting:

No word yet on the dates of this biannual Olympia, Washington meeting. The above web link still refers to last year's (1998) meeting. Extrapolating into the future, we should expect a meeting some time in or about July of 2000. The 1998 meeting had a strong bacteriophage ecology presence and with luck (i.e., with your participation!) we will do even better in 2000. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.

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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 such 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.

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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 document formats), and in English.

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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., Mansfield, 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 questions 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 not been edited for grammar, spelling, or clarity.

1. Here are some renderings of bacteriophages that I did in 3d Max 2.5 for a project for school (I'm a sophmore in High School). They may not be completly accurate but I thought it would be nice if I sent them to you. -Ed Clairmont (cyanide_plunge@hotmail.com)
   

   These look much better as full size jpg's (esp. 1 & 3). Click on individual images to view them full size.

1. I am looking for T4 phage mutant capable of efficient generalized transduction - T4GT7. We need it for our E.coli strain construction experiments. Could you suggest where I can get this phage? Press to contact author of question.

2. Could phages be used in swimmingpool to prevent meningitis. (I forgot the specific bacteria, sorry) Because this is one of the biggist problems of swimming children or will the Cl in poolwater bestroy the phages like it does with most bacterias. Press to contact author of question.

3. How do you choose the 'package' of the phages. Because on the video by the BBC I could see there where pills, cremes and what are the main other 'ingredients' that lets us say the pills contain, phage nutrients? Press to contact author of question.

4. Because our faculty is agricultural there must be something in the work that deals with agricuture. Therefor, can you use phage in litter our in soil. One of the biggest problems in pest management is that bacterias like Nitrococcus and Nitromonas change the useful NH4⁺ inot NO3- and this form is solvable in water so the pesticide floods out the soil. Let assume that these phages exist already, is it possible to stop this reaction by blokking the bacterias, our can 't you use phages at such a big scale. Press to contact author of question.

5. Do you know something about phage-kinetics? Does it follow the Michaelis-Menten equation? Are there anywhere graphics available of bacterial growth and bacterial growth after using different concentrations of phages? Press to contact author of question.

6. I'm a high school student... My interests are going to be fairly basic. Since Kindergarten I've been actively involved with science fairs, and for the past 2 years, the field of Microbiology, and since phages are rarely worked w/in my field I thought I should do some background research on some possible projects. Press to contact author of question.

7. I am student of Microbiology... I am from Guatemala, IÝm looking for the procedure to isolate phages from feces. I have been looking for that technique but I canÝt find nothing. Can you help me? Press to contact author of question.

8. I am a research from Plant Protection Institut, and I am doing my PhD in Bacillus thuringiensis phages. ...I am very interested in to obtain literature about bacteriophage (bacteriophage infections in industrial bioprocesses; influence of bacterial growth and culture media) because we have had some experiences in biopesticides production. Also, if you know to the Dr. S.B. Primrose, please, send me his email to contact him. Press to contact author of question.

9. We would like to set up a listing of any sites that have anything to do with bacteriophage info. A sort of clearing house. We are artists and are interested in detailed images (or "impressions of" type images) of bacteriophages. Press to contact author of question.

10. Is there a meeting ever held in the UK for people interested in phage therapy, and if there isnt would people in the UK be interested in maybe starting one here next year? Press to contact author of question.

11. I've been looking through your list of BEG links and came across this paper: PHENOTYPIC CONVERSIONS AS A RESULT OF PSEUDOLYSOGENY Julie J. Shaffer, John O. Schrader, and Tyler A. Kokjohn School of Biological Sciences, E151 Beadle Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0666. I have an interest in the carrier state (what they call pseudolysogeny) and want to see what they are up to now. None of these authors are in the BEG list, they don't list an e-mail address, and I can't find them on the Uni.Nebraska-Lincoln staff directory. Do you have an e-mail address, or know whether they are still active? Press to contact author of question.

12. Do you know of anyone who is sequencing genomes of T3/T7-like phages. Press to contact author of question.

13. I am presently working on a paper on the effect of large hydropower projects on public health. These projects are now widely recognized to be responsible for dramatic increase in numerous waterborn diseases. These diseases are for the most part parasitic. Recent readings on the increasing interest of many scientist on the usefullness of bacteriophage to fight certain disease, got me thinking...could phage be found that would specifically attack parasites? Knowing the increasing resistance of these parasites to chemical drugs, phages could become a very interesting tool to fight these debilitating diseases (malaria, bilhardioze, schistosomiasis, etc.). Press to contact author of question.

14. I am trying to find info about the life sequence and growth habits of the T1 phage, as well as info on how to prevent its growth and preventing it from contaminating my bacterial stocks. Any info you can provide, whether directly or in the form of a reference, would be much appreciated. Press to contact author of question.

15. Wondering if you might be able to give me some info on a bacteria called "Lwoff". It is named after Andre Lwoff at The Pasteur Institute. I think he was "The Father of Phage". I would like to know how and why it would become a human pathogen and if so, would an antibiotic kill it. Also what can it do to the body? Press to contact author of question.

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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

There is a conquering theme in all of nature. In regard to animals, this conquering is called survival; humans deem their conquests 'progress.' Of course, the humans never see themselves as animals, but that's another oddity of our species. There is in all of us a spirit of devouring, whether that be the consumption of knowledge, land, the minds of others, food, or in the case of the macrophage [sic?], life itself. Ahh, the macrophage [sic]...we call it a virus, a creature that destroys life to propagate its own DNA into the next generation. We being a judgmental people would probably look down upon the virus, making a moral judgement, and labeling these microbes 'evil.' Since we don't think of this most basic form in terms of responsibility or morality, the virus escapes our criticism.

The macrophage [sic] attacks a cell by using the cell's organelles to make copies of itself, over and over, until the cell finally ruptures and releases many more viruses. The only way it can propagate is to destroy, and in this way humans are not so different from Phage. The difference is, we do not have to destroy to create, as Phage does. Yet destruction, of both our world and ourselves is commonplace.

My argument is to never be so lulled by pride into believing that other life on earth is alien, and that we are nothing like the smallest of creatures. To look into yourself, aware of the darkness you might find, is a brave act. Perspective is made clear. Never hesitate to face yourself, the Phage, the macrophage... -anonymous

Editors note: I enjoy this image though I have no idea who the artist is (other than the URL to the page I found the image on). The text, I assume, is by the same individual. However, if I may correct the argument ever so slightly: To create is to change is to destroy. We humans mine the raw material of our procreation by destroying our environment just as inevitably as the phage destroys its (or, perhaps not just as inevitably, since not all nor, perhaps, even most phages are very good at completely destroying their environments). Just as with the phage, this destruction is sustainable long into the future, but only so long as our environments may be allowed to regenerate at least as fast as we destroy them.

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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. Effect of prey heterogeneity on the response of a food chain to resource enrichment. Bohannan, B.J.M., Lenski, R.E. (1999). American Naturalist 153:73-82. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

2. Effect of resource supply rate on host-pathogen dynamics. Bohannan, B.J.M. (1999). ??? (eds) Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

3. Epistatic interactions can lower the cost of resistance to multiple consumers. Bohannan, B.J.M., Travisano, M., Lenski, R.E. (1999). Evolution 53:292-295. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

4. Unexplored reservoirs of pathogenic bacteria: protozoa and biofilms. Brown, M., Barker, J. (1999). Trends in Microbiology 7:???-??? [no abstract]

5. All the world's a phage. Hendrix, R.W., Smith, M.C.M., Burns, R.N., Ford, M.E., Hatfull, G.F. (1999). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96:2192-2197 [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

6. TB: the return of the phage. A review of fifty years of mycobacteriophage research. McNerney, R. (1999). Int. J. Tuberc. Lung Dis. 3:179-184. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

7. Virus removal from sewage effluents during saturated and unsaturated flow through soil columns. Powelson, D.K., Gerba, C.P. (1999). Water Research 28:2175-2181. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

8. Felix d'Herelle and the Origins of Molecular Biology. Summers, W.C. (1999). Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut.[no abstract]

9. Evaluation of virus removal in membrane separation processes using coliphage Q-beta. Urase, T., Yamamoto, K., Ohgaki, S. (1999). Water Science and Technology 28:9-15. [no abstract]

10. A phage DNA injection-blocking type resistance mechanism encoded by chromosomal DNA in Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis PLM-18. ??? (1998). Milchwissenschaft 53:619-622. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

11. In vivo transduction with Shiga toxin 1-encoding phage. Acheson, D.W.K., Reidl, J., Zhang, X., Keusch, G.T., Mekalanos, J.J., Waldor, M.K. (1998). Infection and Immunity 66:4496-4498. [no abstract]

12. Construction of multiple phage resistance in Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis. Akcelik, M. (1998). Advances in Food Sciences 20:101-104. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

13. Bacteriophages show promise as antimicrobial agents. Alisky, J., Iczkowski, K., Rapoport, A., Troitsky, N. (1998). Journal of Infection 36:5-15. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

14. Phage resistance mechanisms in lactic acid bacteria. Allison, G.E., Klaenhammer, T.R. (1998). International Dairy Journal 8:207-226.[PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

15. Peptide-guided cancer drugs show promise in mice. Barinaga, M. (1998). Science 279, 323-324. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

16. Induction Studies on Thermophilic Phage. Barridge, B.D. (1998). The University of Nebraska - Lincoln. [no abstract]

17. Use of lytic bacteriophage for control of experimental Escherichia coli septicemia and meningitis in chickens and calves. Barrow, P., Lovell, M., Berchieri, A.jr. (1998). Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology 5:294-298. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

18. His1, and archaeal virus of the Fuselloviridae family that infects Haloarcula hispanica. Bath, C., Dyall-Smith, M.L. (1998). J. Virol. 72:9392-9395. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

19. Modeling and analysis of a marine bacteriophage infection. Beretta, E., Kuang, Y. (1998). Math. Biosci. 149:57-76. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

20. Microscale nutrient patches in planktonic habitats shown by chemotactic bacteria. Blackburn, N., Fenchel, T., Mitchell, J. (1998). Science 282:2254-2256. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

21. Specific assays for bacteria using phage mediated release of adenylate kinase. Blasco, R., Murphy, M.J., Sanders, M.F., Squirrell, D.J. (1998). Journal of Applied Microbiology 84:661-666. [no abstract]

22. Response of model microbial communities to increased productivity. Bohannan, B.J.M. (1998). Michigan State Univeristy. [no abstract]

23. Effects of the abortive infection mechanism AbiK on the lactococcal phage p2. Boucher, I., Emond, E., Moineau, S. (1998). Denver, CO (USA). #1998 American Dairy Science Association (ADSA)/American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) Joint Meeting. 1998.[no abstract]

24. Description of two bacteriophages active against Lotus rhizobia. Bruch, C.W., Allen, O.N. (1998). Proc. Am. Soil Sci. Soc. 19:175-??? [no abstract]

25. Molecular ecology and evolution of Streptococcus thermophilus bacteriophages--a review. Brussow, H., Bruttin, A., Desiere, F., Lucchini, S., Foley, S. (1998). Virus Genes 16:95-109. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

26. Viral escape from antisense RNA. Bull, J.J., Jacoboson, A., Badgett, M.R., Molineax, I.J. (1998). Molecular Microbiology 28:835-846. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

27. The pleasures of pond scum. Carlson, S. (1998). Scientific American March, 96-98. [no abstract]

28. New cholera phages for Vibrio cholerae serovar O139. Chakrabarti, A.K., Ghosh, A.N., Sarkar, B.L. (1998). Journal of Infection 36:131-132. [no abstract]

29. Virus particle production in lysogenic bacteria exposed to protozoan grazing. Clarke, K.J. (1998). FEMS Microbiology Letters 166:177-180. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

30. Increasing phage resistance of cheese starters: A case study using Lactococcus lactis DPC4268. Coffey, A., Coakley, M., McGarry, A., Fitzgerald, G.F., Ross, R.P. (1998). Letters in Applied Microbiology 26:51-55. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

31. Effect of Environmental Factors upon a Staphylococcus Host-Phage System. Countryman, J.L. (1998). Stanford University. [no abstract]

32. Virulence of phage populations infecting Halobacterium cutirubrum. Daniels, L.L., Wais, A.C. (1998). FEMS Microbiology Ecology 25:129-134. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

33. Phages infecting Vibrio vulnificus are abundant and diverse in oysters (Crassostrea virginica) collected from the Gulf of Mexico. Depaola, A., Motes, M.L., Chan, A.M., Suttle, C.A. (1998). Applied & Environmental Microbiology 64:346-351. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

34. Evolution of Streptococcus thermophilus bacteriophage genomes by modular exchanges followed by point mutations and small deletions and insertions. Desiere, F., Lucchini, S., Brussow, H. (1998). Virology 241:345-356. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

35. A leucine repeat motif in AbiA is required for resistance of Lactococcus lactis to phages representing three species. Dinsmore, P.K., O'Sullivan, D.J., Klaenhammer, T.R. (1998). Gene 212:5-11. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

36. E. coli's double life. Dixon, B. (1998). ASM News 64:616-617. [no abstract]

37. Sequence and analysis of the 60 kb conjugative, bacteriocin-producing plasmid pMRC01 from Lactococcus lactis DPC3147. Dougherty, B.A., Hill, C., Weidman, J.F., Richardson, D.R., Venter, J.C., Ross, R.P. (1998). Molecular Microbiology 29:1029-1038. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

38. Delineating the specific influence of virus isoelectric point and size on virus adsorption and transport through sandy soils. Dowd, S.E., Pillai, S.D., Wang, S., Corapcioglu, M.Y. (1998). Applied & Environmental Microbiology 64:405-410. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

39. AbiQ, an abortive infection mechanism from Lactococcus lactis. Emond, E., Dion, E., Walker, S.A., Vedamuthu, E.R., Kondo, J.K., Moineau, S. (1998). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 64:4748-4756. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

40. Induction of the lysogenic phage encoding Cholera toxin in naturally occurring strains of toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1 and O139. Faruque, S.M., Asadulghani, Abdul, A., Albert, M.J., Nasirul, I., Mekalanos, J.J. (1998). Infection and Immunity 66:3752-3757. [no abstract]

41. A short noncoding viral DNA element showing characteristics of a replication origin confers bacteriophage resistance to Streptococcus thermophilus. Foley, S., Lucchini, S., Zwahlen, M.C., Brussow, H. (1998). Virology 250:377-387. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

42. Occurrence of a sequence in marine cyanophages similar to that of T4 gp20 and its application to PCR-based detection and quantification techniques. Fuller, N.J., Wilson, W.H., Joint, I.R., Mann, N.H. (1998). Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 64:2051-2060. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

43. High titer, phage-neutralizing antibodies in bovine colostrum that prevent lytic infection of Lactococcus lactis in fermentations of phage-contaminated milk. Geller, B.L., Kraus, J., Schell, M.D., Hornsby, M.J., Neal, J.J., Ruch, F.E. (1998). Journal of Dairy Science 81:895-900. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

44. Membrane receptor for prolate phages is not required for infection of Lactococcus lactis by small or large isometric phages. Geller, B.L. (1998). Journal of Dairy Science 81:2329-2335. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

45. Predicting disinfection performance in continuous flow systems from batch disinfection kinetics. Haas, C.N., Joffe, J., Heath, M., Jacangelo, J., Anmangandla, U. (1998). Water Science and Technology 38:171-179. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

46. Evaluation of alginate-encapsulated Azotobacter chroococcum as a phage-resistant and an effective inoculum. Hammad, A.M.M. (1998). Journal of Basic Microbiology 38:9-16. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

47. Efficacy and mechanisms of action of sodium hypochlorite on Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 phage F116. Hann, A.C., Baubet, V., Perrin, R. (1998). Journal of Applied Microbiology 85:925-932. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

48. ??? Hausmann, R., Härle, E. (1998). Proc. Eur. Biophys. Congr. 1:467-??? [no abstract]

49. Optimising starter culture performance in NZ cheese plantsproduction. Heap, H.A. (1998). Australian Journal of Dairy Technology 53:74-78. [no abstract]

50. Phage as antibacterial tool. Holzman, D. (1998). Genetic Engineering News (October 15), 1-48. [no abstract]

51. Reassessment of medicinal phage……. Holzman, D. (1998). ASM News 64:620-622. [no abstract]

52. …Spurs companies to study therapeutic uses. Holzman, D. (1998). ASM News 64:622-623. [no abstract]

53. A comparison of two methods to recover phages from soil samples. Hu, T.L. (1998). Bioresource Technology 65:167-169. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

54. Biofilm susceptibility to bacteriophage attack: the role of phage-borne polysaccharide depolymerase. Hughes, K.A., Sutherland, I.W., Jones, M.V. (1998). Microbiology -Reading- 45:3039-3047. [no abstract]

55. A novel filamentous phage, fs-2, of Vibrio cholerae O139. Ikema, M., Honma, Y. (1998). Microbiology -Reading- 144:1901-1906. [no abstract]

56. Mechanism of T4 Phage Restriction by a Thermosensitive Drug Resistant Factor RTSL. Ishaq, M. (1998). University of Pennsylvania. [no abstract]

57. Prevalence of broad-host-range lytic bacteriophages of Sphaerotilus natans, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Jensen, E.C., Schrader, H.S., Rieland, B., Thompson, T.L., Lee, K.W., Nickerson, K.W., Kokjohn, T.A. (1998). Applied & Environmental Microbiology 64:575-580. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

58. Characterization of marine temperate phage-host systems isolated from Mamala Bay, Oahu, Hawaii. Jiang, S.C., Kellogg, C.A., Paul, J.H. (1998). Applied & Environmental Microbiology 64:535-542. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

59. Significance of lysogeny in the marine environment: studies with isolates and a model of lysogenic phage production. Jiang, S.C., Paul, J.H. (1998). Microbial Ecology 35:235-243. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

60. Gene transfer by transduction in the marine environment. Jiang, S.C., Paul, J.H. (1998). Applied & Environmental Microbiology 64:2780-2787. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

61. Fluorescent Escherichia coli C for enumeration of coliphages from environmental samples. Jothikumar, N., Cliver, D.O. (1998). BioTechniques 24:546 [no abstract]

62. Characterization and possible functions of a new filamentous bacteriophage from Vibrio cholerae O139. Jouravleva, E.A., McDonald, G.A., Garon, C.F., Boesman-Finkelstein, M., Finkelstein, R.A. (1998). Microbiology 144:315-324. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

63. The Vibrio cholerae mannose-sensitive hemagglutinin is the receptor for a filamentous bacteriophage from V. cholerae O139. Jouravleva, E.A., McDonald, G.A., Marsh, J.W., Taylor, R.K., Boesman-Finkelstein, M., Finkelstein, R.A. (1998). Infection and Immunity 66:2535-2539. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

64. Phage display of a biologically active Bacillus thuringiensis toxin. Kasman, L.M., Lukowiak, A.A., Garczynski, S.F., McNall, R.J., Youngman, P., Adang, M.J. (1998). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 64:2995-3003. [no abstract]

65. Return of a killer. Koerner, B.I. (1998). U.S.News and World Report (November 2, 1998), 51-52. Phages may once again fight tough bacterial infections.[no abstract]

66. An experimental selection system to identify bacterial cells exhibiting a new DNA host specificity. Kunz, A., Meisel, A., Mackeldanz, P., Reuter, M., Krueger, D.H. (1998). Biological Chemistry 379:563-566. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

67. Phage therapy: bacteriophages as antibiotics. Kutter, E. (1998). http://www.evergreen.edu/user/T4/PhageTherapy/Phagethea.html [no abstract]

68. Distribution of indicator bacteria and bacteriophages in shellfish and shellfish-growing waters. Legnani, P., Leoni, E., Lev, D., Rossi, R., Villa, G.C., Bisbini, P. (1998). Journal of Applied Microbiology 85:790-798. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

69. The challenge of antibiotic resistance. Levy, S.B. (1998). Scientific American (March), 46-53. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

70. The structural gene module in Streptococcus thermophilus bacteriophage f Sfi11 shows a hierarchy of relatedness to Siphoviridae from a wide range of bacterial hosts. Lucchini, S., Desiere, F., Brussow, H. (1998). Virology 246:63-73. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

71. Virus binding to brown algal spores and gametes visualized by DAPI fluorescence microscopy. Maier, I., Mueller, D.G. (1998). Phycologia 37:60-63. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

72. Resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 phage F116 to sodium hypochlorite. Maillard, J.Y., Hann, A.C., Perrin, R. (1998). Journal of Applied Microbiology 85:799-806. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

73. Characterization of a novel cis-syn and trans-syn-II pyrimidine dimer glycosylase/AP lyase from a eukaryotic algal virus, Paramecium bursaria chlorella virus-1. McCullough, A.K., Romberg, M.T., Nyaga, S., Wei, Y., Wood, T.G., Taylor, J.S., Van Etten, J.L., Dodson, M.L., Lloyd, R.S. (1998). Journal of Biological Chemistry [J. Biol. Chem. ] 273:13136-13142. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

74. Synergistic effects of abiE or abiF from pNP40 when cloned in combination with abiD from pBF61. McLandsborough, L.A., Sechaud, L., McKay, L.L. (1998). Journal of Dairy Science 81:362-368. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

75. Evidence of pseudolysogeny in a marine phage host system. McLaughlin, M.R., Paul, J.H. (1998). Abstracts of the General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology 98:387-??? [no abstract]

76. Comparative survival of F⁺ RNA coliphages, poliovirus type 1(PV1), and somatic salmonella phage (SSP) in advanced treated wastewater, groundwater and soil suspensions. Meschke, J.S., Sobsey, M.D. (1998). Abstracts of the General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology 98:443-444. [no abstract]

77. Dynamics of the pseudolysogenic response in slowly growing cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Miller, R.V. (1998). Microbiology (Reading) 144:2225-2232. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

78. Abundance in sewage of bacteriophages that infect Escherichia coli 0157:H7 and that carry the Shiga toxin 2 gene. Muniesa, M., Jofre, J. (1998). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 64:2443-2448. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

79. A temperate phage with cohesive ends induced by mitomycin C treatment of Lactobacillus casei. Nakashima, Y., Hasuwa, H., Kakita, Y., Murata, K., Kuroiwa, A., Miake, F., Watanabe, K. (1998). Archives of Virology 143:1621-1626. [no abstract]

80. Comparison of the lysogeny modules from the temperate Streptococcus thermophilus bacteriophages TP-J34 and Sfi21: implications for the modular theory of phage evolution. Neve, H., Zenz, K.I., Desiere, F., Koch, A., Heller, K.J., Brussow, H. (1998). Virology 241:61-72. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

81. Design of a phage-insensitive lactococcal dairy starter via sequential transfer of naturally occurring conjugative plasmids. O'Sullivan, D., Coffey, A., Fitzgerald, G.F., Hill, C., Ross, R.P. (1998). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 64:4618-4622. [no abstract]

82. Recovery of phages T1 and PP7, and poliovirus from water with a hollow-fiber, 50,000 molecular weight cut-off ultrafilter. Oshima, K., Ommani, A. (1998). Abstracts of the General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology 98:438-??? [no abstract]

83. Genetic dynamics of Salmonella typhi-diversity in clonality. Pang, T. (1998). Trends in Microbiology 6:339-342. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

84. The polyvalent staphylococcal phage í812: its host-range mutants and related phages. Pantucek, R., Rosypalova, A., Doskar, J., Kailerova, J., Ruzickova, V., Borecka, P., Snopkova, S., Horvath, R., Goetz, F., Rosypal, S. (1998). Virology -New York- 246:241-252. [no abstract]

85. Biological systems aimed at a control over environmental mutagenic load. Pererva, T.P., Miryuta, N.Y., Miryuta, A.Y., Aleksandrov, Y. (1998). Dopovidi Natsional'noyi Akademiyi Nauk Ukrayiny 188-192. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

86. Abundance, morphology and distribution of planktonic virus-like particles in two high-mountain lakes. Pina, S., Creus, A., Ganzález, N., Gironés, R., Felip, M., Sommaruga, R. (1998). Journal of Plankton Research 20:2413-2421. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

87. Viral pollution in the environment and in shellfish: Human adenovirus detection by PCR as an index of human viruses. Pina, S., Puig, M., Lucena, F., Jofre, J., Girones, R. (1998). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 64:3376-3382. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

88. New method churns out TB mutants. Potera, C. (1998). Science 280, 1350-1351. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

89. Complete sequence of the new lactococcal abortive phage resistance gene abiO. Prevots, F., Ritzenthaler, P. (1998). Journal of Dairy Science 81:1483-1485. [no abstract]

90. Nucleotide seqeunce and analysis of the new chromosomal abortive infection gene abiN of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris S114. Prevots, F., Tolou, S., Delpech, B., Kaghad, M., Daloyau, M. (1998). FEMS Microbiology Letters 159:331-336. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

91. Viral pollution in the environment and in shellfish: Human adenovirus detection by PCR as an index of human viruses. Puig, M., Lucena, F., Jofre, J., Girones, R. (1998). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 64:3376-3382. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

92. Physicochemical characterization of phage adsorption to Lactobacillus helveticus ATCC 15807 cells. Quiberoni, A., Reinheimer, J.A. (1998). Journal of Applied Microbiology 85:762-768. [no abstract]

93. Genetic (RAPD-PCR) and technological diversities among wild Lactobacillus helveticus strains. Quiberoni, A., Tailliez, P., Quenee, P., Suarez, V., Reinheimer, J. (1998). Journal of Applied Microbiology 85:591-596. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

94. Dynamics of the pseudolysogenic response in slowly growing cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Ripp, S., Miller, R.V. (1998). Microbiology (Reading) 144:2225-2232. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

95. Parvovirus B19-induced anemia as the presenting manifestation of X-linked hyper-IgM syndrome. Seyama, K., Kobayashi, R., Hasle, H., Apter, A.J., Rutledge, J.C., Rosen, D., Ochs, HD (1998). Journal of Infectious Disease 178:318-324. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

96. Phenotypic mixing of pyocin R2 and bacteriophage PS17 in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Shinomiya, T. (1998). J. Virol. 49:310-??? [no abstract]

97. Distinguishing human from animal faecal contamination in water: A review. Sinton, L.W., Finlay, R.K., Hannah, D.J. (1998). New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 32:323-348. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

98. Phage therapy. Soothill, J.S. (1998). Journal Of Pharmacy And Pharmacology 50:36-36. [no abstract]

99. Lack of surface receptors not restriction-modification system determines F4 phage resistance in Streptococcus bovis II/1. Styriak, I., Pristas, P., Javorsky, P. (1998). Folia Microbiologica 43:35-38. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

100. Temperate viruses and lysogeny in Lake Superior bacterioplankton. Tapper, M., Hicks, R.E. (1998). Limnology and Oceanography 43:95-103. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

101. Role of the air-water-solid interface in bacteriophage sorption experiments. Thompson, S.S., Flury, M., Yates, M.V., Jury, W.A. (1998). Applied & Environmental Microbiology 64:304-309. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

102. Is the major capsid protein of iridoviruses a suitable target for the study of viral evolution? Tidona, C.A., Schnitzler, P., Kehm, R., Darai, G. (1998). Virus Genes 16:59-66. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

103. Identification and characterization of a newly isolated Shiga toxin 2-converting phage from Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli. Watarai, M., Sato, T., Kobayashi, M., Shimizu, T., Yamasaki, S., Tobe, T., Sasakawa, C., Takeda, Y. (1998). Infection and Immunity 66:4100-4107. [no abstract]

104. Significance of viral lysis and flagellate grazing as factors controlling bacterioplankton production in a eutrophic lake. Weinbauer, M.G., Hofle, M.G. (1998). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 64:431-438. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

105. Population dynamics of phytoplankton and viruses in a phosphate-limited mesocosm and their effect on DMSP and DMS production. Wilson, W.H., Turner, S., Mann, N.H. (1998). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 56(Supplement a):49-59. [PRESS FOR ABSTRACT]

106. Ultrastructure, biological and physical-chemical properties of mycobacterial phage MTPH11. Zhilenkov, E.L., Shemyakin, I.G., Korobova, O.V., Stepanshina, V.A. (1998). Boston, MA (USA). 8th International Conference on Infectious Diseases. 1998.[no abstract]

contents | BEG News (001) | top of page

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. Effect of prey heterogeneity on the response of a food chain to resource enrichment. Bohannan, B.J.M., Lenski, R.E. (1999). American Naturalist 153:73-82. We demonstrated that the presence of invulnerable prey can result in a shift in the balance between top-down and bottom-up control of a model food chain. Our model food chain consisted of the bacterium Escherichia coli and the bacteriophage T4 (a virus that feeds on E. coli) in chemostats supplied with different concentrations of glucose. The E. coli population consisted of individuals that were susceptible to predation by T4 ("edible" E. coli) and individuals that were resistant to predation by T4 ("inedible" E. coli). The equilibrium density of a hetergeneous prey population (consisting of edible and inedible E. coli) increased strongly in response to an enrichment of its resources. This response consisted of an increase in the inedible fraction of the prey population, but no change in the edible fraction. In contrast, a homogeneous prey population (edible E. coli only) increased only marginally. The equilibrium density of the predator population (bacteriophage T4) did not significantly increase in response to enrichment when its prey were heterogeneous, but it increased when its prey were homogeneous.

2. Effect of resource supply rate on host-pathogen dynamics. Bohannan, B.J.M. (1999). ??? (eds) Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology. The dynamics of model host cell (E. coli) and model pathogen (bacteriophage) populations were studied in chemostats with different resource supply rates. Resource supply rate was manipulated by altering the concentration of the limiting resource (glucose) in the incoming media. Population responses to increased resource supply rate were influenced by the vulnerability of the host cells to infection. When the host cell population consisted entirely of cells equally vulnerable to infection, both pathogen and host cells responded to increased resource supply rate with an increase in their average densities. In contrast, when the host cell contained some cells that were less vulnerable to infection (i.e., partially phage-resistant E. coli), only the pathogen population responded to increased supply rate with a significant increase in average density. Furthermore, when the host cell population contained some cells completely invulnerable to infection (i.e., phage-resistant E. coli) only the host cell population responded to increased supply rate with an increase in average density. These responses were in general agreement with the predictions of mechanistic models of resource-consumer interactions.

3. Epistatic interactions can lower the cost of resistance to multiple consumers. Bohannan, B.J.M., Travisano, M., Lenski, R.E. (1999). Evolution 53:292-295. It is widely assumed that resistance to consumers (e.g., predators or pathogens) comes at a "cost"; i.e., that when the consumer is absent the resident organisms are less fit than their susceptible counterparts. It is unclear what factors determine this cost. We demonstrate that epistasis between genes that confer resistance to two different consumers can alter the cost of resistance. We used as a model system the bacterium Escherichia coli and two different viruses (bacteriophage), T4 and l, that prey upon E. coli. Epistasis tended to reduce the costs of multiple resistance in this system. However, the extent of cost savings and its statistical significance depended on the environment in which fitness was measured, whether the null hypothesis for gene interaction was additive or multiplicative, and subtle differences among mutations that conferred the same resistance phenotype.

4. Unexplored reservoirs of pathogenic bacteria: protozoa and biofilms. Brown, M., Barker, J. (1999). Trends in Microbiology 7:???-???

5. All the world's a phage. Hendrix, R.W., Smith, M.C.M., Burns, R.N., Ford, M.E., Hatfull, G.F. (1999). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96:2192-2197 We report DNA and predicted protein sequence similarities, implying homology, among genes of dsDNA bacteriophages and prophages spanning broad phylogenetic range of host bacteria. The sequence matches reported here establish genetic connections not always direct, among the lambdoid phages of Escherichia coli, phage fC31 of Streptomyces, phages of Mycobacterium, a previously unrecognized cryptic prophage, fFlu, in the Haemophilus influenzae genome, and two small prophage-like elements fRv1 and fRV2, in the genome of M. tuberculosis. The results imply that these phage genomes, and very possibly all of the dsDNA tailed phages, share common ancestry. We propose a model for the genetic structure and dynamics of the global phage population in which all dsDNA phage genomes are mosaics with access by horizontal exchange, to a large common genetic pool, but in which access to the gene pool is not uniform for all phage.

6. TB: the return of the phage. A review of fifty years of mycobacteriophage research. McNerney, R. (1999). Int. J. Tuberc. Lung Dis. 3:179-184. The first mycobacteriophage was isolated in 1947, and since that time over 250 of these viruses have been identified. Phages have made a significant contribution to our knowledge of mycobacteria over the past 50 years, and following the development of typing techniques in the 1960s and 1970s they were widely used in epidemiological studies of tuberculosis. Unfortunately, attempts to use lytic phages therapeutically during tuberculosis infection have so far failed to elicit cure in experimentally infected animals. During the past decade phages have become important in molecular studies of mycobacteria, both in terms of studying phage biology and as tools in recombinant DNA technology, thus facilitating the investigation of mycobacterial pathogenesis. Today their potential as diagnostics reagents is also being realized with the development of exciting new techniques for rapid bacterial detection and drug susceptibility testing. This review outlines the history of these remarkable organisms, from their discovery fifty years ago to the current developments in rapid diagnostic techniques.

7. Virus removal from sewage effluents during saturated and unsaturated flow through soil columns. Powelson, D.K., Gerba, C.P. (1999). Water Research 28:2175-2181. Recharge of sewage effluents may lead to contamination of groundwater with viruses. The goal of this research was to quantify virus removal in representative subsurface transport conditions. Soil column and batch studies were conducted to evaluate how virus type, effluent type and water saturation affect virus adsorption and removal. Three viruses were used: MS2 and PRD1 bacteriophages and poliovirus type 1. In the first column study, secondary- or tertiary-treated sewage containing the viruses percolated through coarse-sand columns under unsaturated conditions. In the second column study, the viruses suspended in secondary-treated sewage percolated through the columns under saturated or unsaturated conditions. A batch adsorption study was conducted to determine equilibrium adsorption of these viruses to the sand. Effluent type had no significant effect on first-order virus removal coefficients or retardation of virus transport. Virus "removal" was considered to be inactivation or irreversible adsorption. Unsaturated conditions resulted in an average removal coefficient (mu^-s = 0.31 h^-1) more than three times greater than saturated conditions (mu^-s= 0.095 h^-1), a significant difference at the 0.01 level. Poliovirus had a greater retardation coefficient (R = 5.2) than the bacteriophages (MS2, R = 1.4; and PRD1, R = 2.2), a significant difference at the 0.001 level. Column retardations of virus transport were only 0.8-8.0% of that predicted by adsorption coefficients determined from the batch studies. Equations developed in this paper may aid in estimating virus removal during recharge of effluents if the water residence times in ponds, the vadose zone and the aquifer are known.

8. Felix d'Herelle and the Origins of Molecular Biology. Summers, W.C. (1999). Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut.

9. Evaluation of virus removal in membrane separation processes using coliphage Q-beta. Urase, T., Yamamoto, K., Ohgaki, S. (1999). Water Science and Technology 28:9-15.

10. A phage DNA injection-blocking type resistance mechanism encoded by chromosomal DNA in Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis PLM-18. ??? (1998). Milchwissenschaft 53:619-622. Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis strain PLM-18 has a phage resistance activity against variant f la2 which resulted in phage DNA injection-blocking. After adsorption of variant f la2 to PLM-18 and its plasmid free derivative MA-12 cells with the same adsorption rate (98.4%), phage DNA was detected in neither PLM-18 nor MA-12 cells while detecting variant f la2 DNA in sensitive host LLA-111 after 5 min. following phage adsorption. However, electrotransformation of phage DNA into resistant hosts, PLM-18 and MA-12, resulted in release of phage progeny on the contrary of conventional infection assays.

11. In vivo transduction with Shiga toxin 1-encoding phage. Acheson, D.W.K., Reidl, J., Zhang, X., Keusch, G.T., Mekalanos, J.J., Waldor, M.K. (1998). Infection and Immunity 66:4496-4498.

12. Construction of multiple phage resistance in Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis. Akcelik, M. (1998). Advances in Food Sciences 20:101-104. The conjugative 37.5 Kb plasmid encodes inhibition of phage adsorption (Ads⁺) in Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis P25, transferred into L. lactis subsp. lactis MA12 carrying chromosomally encoded inhibition of phage DNA injection (f⁺) type resistance. The Lac⁺, Strr, Kmr, f⁺ and Ads⁺ representative transconjugant PMA3 strain demonstrated full resistance to the prolate-headed phages which were not inhibited by f⁺ mechanism in the recipient strain MA12. Plasmid p2520L was found to be completely stable in the transconjugant strain PMA3 after growing this strain in 10% RSM for 75 generations.

13. Bacteriophages show promise as antimicrobial agents. Alisky, J., Iczkowski, K., Rapoport, A., Troitsky, N. (1998). Journal of Infection 36:5-15. The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has prompted interest in alternatives to conventional drugs. One possible option is to use bacteriophages (phage) as antimicrobial agents. We have conducted a literature review of all Medline citations from 1966-1996 that dealt with the therapeutic use of phage. There were 27 papers from Poland, the Soviet Union, Britain and the U.S.A. The Polish and Soviets administered phage orally, topically or systemically to treat a wide variety of antibiotic-resistant pathogens in both adults and children. Infections included suppurative wound infections, gastroenteritis, sepsis, osteomyelitis, dermatitis, empyemas and pneumonia; pathogens included Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Klebsiella, Escherichia, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Shigella and Salmonella spp. Overall, the Polish and Soviets reported success rates of 80-95% for phage therapy, with rare, reversible gastrointestinal or allergic side effects. However, efficacy of phage was determined almost exclusively by qualitative clinical assessment of patients, and details of dosages and clinical criteria were very sketchy. There were also six British reports describing controlled trials of phage in animal models (mice, guinea pigs and livestock), measuring survival rates and other objective criteria. All of the British studies raised phage against specific pathogens then used to create experimental infections. Demonstrable efficacy against Escherichia, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas and Staphylococcus spp. was noted in these model systems. Two U.S. papers dealt with improving the bioavailability of phage. Phage is sequestered in the spleen and removed from circulation. This can be overcome by serial passage of phage through mice to isolate mutants that resist sequestration. In conclusion, bacteriophages may show promise for treating antibiotic resistant pathogens. To facilitate further progress, directions for future research are discussed and a directory of authors from the reviewed papers is provided.

14. Phage resistance mechanisms in lactic acid bacteria. Allison, G.E., Klaenhammer, T.R. (1998). International Dairy Journal 8:207-226. Dairy fermentations involving Lactococcus lactis and more recently Streptococcus thermophilus, are commonly attacked by bacteriophages. Efforts to protect these dairy starter cultures have resulted in a significant body of knowledge about the bacteriophages, their interactions with the host, and natural phage defense mechanisms that have evolved within bacteria operating under the most dynamic and devastating phage environment faced by industrial fermentations. This paper will overview this area and discuss the novel genetic approaches that are now being investigated in an effort to provide long term phage protection to dairy starter cultures that are used extensively in the industry.

15. Peptide-guided cancer drugs show promise in mice. Barinaga, M. (1998). Science 279, 323-324. [This Research News item is on drugs developed using phages which were injected into mammalian blood streams. There is only a one sentence reference to the technique, however, and no references cited. Furthermore, the phages did not do any infecting while in the host. Instead, these were phages which displayed peptides on their capsids: "Phages were injected into an animal . . . to identify peptides that stuck to specific tissues."].

16. Induction Studies on Thermophilic Phage. Barridge, B.D. (1998). The University of Nebraska - Lincoln.

17. Use of lytic bacteriophage for control of experimental Escherichia coli septicemia and meningitis in chickens and calves. Barrow, P., Lovell, M., Berchieri, A.jr. (1998). Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology 5:294-298. A lytic bacteriophage, which was previously isolated from sewage and which attaches to the K1 capsular antigen, has been used to prevent septicemia and a meningitis-like infection in chickens caused by a K1⁺ bacteremic strain of Escherichia coli. Protection was obtained even when administration of the phage was delayed until signs of disease appeared. The phage was able to multiply in the blood. In newly borne colostrum-deprived calves given the E. coli orally, intramuscular inoculation of phage delayed appearance of the bacterium in the blood and lengthened life span. With some provisos there is considerable potential for this approach to bacterial-disease therapy.

18. His1, and archaeal virus of the Fuselloviridae family that infects Haloarcula hispanica. Bath, C., Dyall-Smith, M.L. (1998). J. Virol. 72:9392-9395. A novel archaeal virus, His1, was isolated from hypersaline waters in south-eastern Australia. It was lytic, grew only on Ha. hispanica (up to titres of 1011p.f.u./ml), and displayed a "lemon-shaped" morphology (74nm x 44nm) previously reported only for a virus of the extreme thermophiles (SSV1). The density of His1 was approximately 1.28g/ml - similar to that of SSV1 (1.24g/ml). Purified particles were resistant to low salt. The genome was linear, dsDNA and 14.9kb in size, which was similar in size to the genome of the SSV1 (ie. 15.5kb). Morphologically, this isolate clearly belongs to the recently proposed Fuselloviridae family of archaeal viruses. It represents the first member from the extremely halophilic archaea, and its host, Ha. hispanica, is one that can be readily manipulated genetically.

19. Modeling and analysis of a marine bacteriophage infection. Beretta, E., Kuang, Y. (1998). Math. Biosci. 149:57-76. A mathematical model for the marine bacteriophage infection is proposed and its essential mathematical features are analyzed. Since bacteriophage infection induces bacterial lysis which releases into the marine environment, on the average, 'b' viruses per cell, the parameter b epsilon (1, t infinity) or 'virus replication factor' is chosen as the main parameter on which the dynamics of the infection depends. We proved that a threshold b* exists beyond which the endemic equilibrium bifurcates from the free disease one. Still, for increasing b values the endemic equilibrium bifurcates toward a periodic solution. We proved that a compact attractor set omega within the positive cone exists and within omega the free disease equilibrium is globally stable whenever b < or = b*, whereas it becomes a strong uniform repeller for b > b*. A concluding discussion with numerical simulation is then presented.

20. Microscale nutrient patches in planktonic habitats shown by chemotactic bacteria. Blackburn, N., Fenchel, T., Mitchell, J. (1998). Science 282:2254-2256. Are nutrients available to microbial communities in micropatches long enough to influence growth and competition? And what are the sources of such patches? To answer these questions, the swimming behavior of chemotactic bacteria in seawater samples was examined. Clusters of bacteria formed in conjunction with cell lysis and excretion by protozoa. These point sources of nutrients spread into spherical patches a few millimeters in diameter and sustained swarms of bacteria for about 10 minutes. Within that time, a large proportion of the nutrients was encountered by bacteria, chemotactic and nonchemotactic alike. Chemotaxis is advantageous for bacteria using patches over a certain size.

21. Specific assays for bacteria using phage mediated release of adenylate kinase. Blasco, R., Murphy, M.J., Sanders, M.F., Squirrell, D.J. (1998). Journal of Applied Microbiology 84:661-666.

22. Response of model microbial communities to increased productivity. Bohannan, B.J.M. (1998). Michigan State Univeristy.

23. Effects of the abortive infection mechanism AbiK on the lactococcal phage p2. Boucher, I., Emond, E., Moineau, S. (1998). Denver, CO (USA). #1998 American Dairy Science Association (ADSA)/American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) Joint Meeting. 1998.

24. Description of two bacteriophages active against Lotus rhizobia. Bruch, C.W., Allen, O.N. (1998). Proc. Am. Soil Sci. Soc. 19:175-???

25. Molecular ecology and evolution of Streptococcus thermophilus bacteriophages--a review. Brussow, H., Bruttin, A., Desiere, F., Lucchini, S., Foley, S. (1998). Virus Genes 16:95-109. Bacteriophages attacking Streptococcus thermophilus, a lactic acid bacterium used in milk fermentation, are a threat to the dairy industry. These small isometric-headed phages possess double-stranded DNA genomes of 31 to 45 kb. Yoghurt-derived phages exhibit a limited degree of variability, as defined by restriction pattern and host range, while a large diversity of phage types have been isolated from cheese factories. Despite this diversity all S. thermophilus phages, virulent and temperate, belong to a single DNA homology group. Several mechanisms appear to create genetic variability in this phage group. Site-specific deletions, one type possibly mediated by a viral recombinase/integrase, which transformed a temperate into a virulent phage, were observed. Recombination as a result of superinfection of a lysogenic host has been reported. Comparative DNA sequencing identified up to 10% sequence diversity due to point mutations. Genome sequencing of the prototype temperate phage f Sfi21 revealed many predicted proteins which showed homology with phages from Lactococcus lactis suggesting horizontal gene transfer. Homology with phages from evolutionary unrelated bacteria like E. coli (e.g. lambdoid phage 434 and P1) and Mycobacterium f L5 was also found. Due to their industrial importance, the existence of large phage collections, and the whole phage genome sequencing projects which are currently underway, the S. thermophilus phages may present an interesting experimental system to study bacteriophage evolution. [References: 48].

26. Viral escape from antisense RNA. Bull, J.J., Jacoboson, A., Badgett, M.R., Molineax, I.J. (1998). Molecular Microbiology 28:835-846. RNA coliphage SP was propagated for several generations on a host expressing an inhibitory antisense RNA complementary to bases 31-270 of the positive-stranded genome. Phages evolved that escaped inhibition. Typically, these escape mutants contained 3-4 base substitutions, but different sequences were observed among different isolates. The mutations were located within three different types of structural features within the predicted secondary structure of SP genomic RNA: (i) hairpin loops; (ii) hairpin stems; and (iii) the 5' region of the phage genome complementary to the antisense molecule. Computer modelling of the mutant genomic RNAs showed that all of the substitutions within hairpin stems improved the Watson-Crick pairing of the stem. No major structural rearrangements were predicted for any of the mutant genomes, and most substitutions in coding regions did not alter the amino acid sequence. Although the evolved phage populations were polymorphic for substitutions, many substitutions appeared independently in two selected lines. The creation of a new, perfect, antisense RNA against an escape mutant resulted in the inhibition of that mutant but not of other escape mutants nor of the ancestral, unevolved phage. Thus, at least in this system, a population of viruses that evolved to escape from a single antisense RNA would require a cocktail of several antisense RNAs for inhibition.

27. The pleasures of pond scum. Carlson, S. (1998). Scientific American March, 96-98.

28. New cholera phages for Vibrio cholerae serovar O139. Chakrabarti, A.K., Ghosh, A.N., Sarkar, B.L. (1998). Journal of Infection 36:131-132.

29. Virus particle production in lysogenic bacteria exposed to protozoan grazing. Clarke, K.J. (1998). FEMS Microbiology Letters 166:177-180. Electron microscopy was used to investigate the apparent induction of virus particle production in bacteria undergoing digestion by ciliates. Results showed that numbers of bacteria containing virus particles increased by a factor of 25 when enclosed within ciliate food vacuoles. It was also found that 10% of these particles survived the digestion process to be released back into the aquatic habitat within faecal pellets. The possibility of virus gene transfer occurring between lysogenically infected bacteria that survive the ciliate digestive processes, is also considered.

30. Increasing phage resistance of cheese starters: A case study using Lactococcus lactis DPC4268. Coffey, A., Coakley, M., McGarry, A., Fitzgerald, G.F., Ross, R.P. (1998). Letters in Applied Microbiology 26:51-55. This study serves as an example of strategies used to increase the phage resistance of an important Irish Cheddar cheese starter, Lactococcus lactis DPC4268. It describes the emergence and persistence of a lytic bacteriophage, 4268, that has a relatively large burst size and exhibits no homology to the most common phage types encountered in Irish cheese plants. Inherent difficulties were encountered that prevented the effective introduction of conjugative phage-resistance plasmids pNP40 and pMRCO1 to strain DPC4268. In fact, pNP40-associated Abi systems were naturally present in six of 19 starters. Control of phage 4268 was eventually achieved by generating a mutant of DPC4268, which was subsequently used for cheese manufacture.

31. Effect of Environmental Factors upon a Staphylococcus Host-Phage System. Countryman, J.L. (1998). Stanford University.

32. Virulence of phage populations infecting Halobacterium cutirubrum. Daniels, L.L., Wais, A.C. (1998). FEMS Microbiology Ecology 25:129-134. Phages of low virulence predominated culturable phage populations in a naturally occurring Jamaican salt pond with Halobacterium cutirubrum as host. These mutated rapidly in culture to higher virulence due to more rapid adsorption to host cells. Wild-type phages of low virulence, S50.2 and S41, with adsorption rate constants (K) of 1.15 and 1.21 times 10^-11 ml min^-1 mutated to produce highly virulent derivatives S50.2Vm and S41Vm with K= 2.60 and 2.61 times 10^-11 ml min^-1, values similar to the most virulent wild-type phages S5100 and S4100, K= 2.61 and 2.55 times 10^-11 ml min^-1 respectively. Quantitative measures of intracellular phage development were constant among low and high virulence wild-type and mutant phages S50.2, S5100 and S50.2Vm with eclipse periods of 5.5 h, latent periods of 9 h and average apparent burst sizes of 60-65. We propose that the natural environment may select for slow adsorption to reduce the frequency of release of DNA from phage particles in response to encounters with non-host material.

33. Phages infecting Vibrio vulnificus are abundant and diverse in oysters (Crassostrea virginica) collected from the Gulf of Mexico. Depaola, A., Motes, M.L., Chan, A.M., Suttle, C.A. (1998). Applied & Environmental Microbiology 64:346-351. Phages infecting Vibrio vulnificus were abundant (10^-4 phages g of oyster tissue^-1) throughout the year in oysters (Crassostrea virginica) collected from estuaries adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico (Apalachicola Bay, Fla.; Mobile Bay, Ala.; and Black Bay, La.). Estimates of abundance ranged from 10^-1 to 10^-5phages g of oyster tissue^-1 and were dependent on the bacterial strain used to assay the sample. V. vulnificus was near or below detection limits ( lt 0.3 cell g^-1) from January through March and was most abundant (10^-3to 10^-4cells g^-1) during the summer and fall, when phage abundances also tended to be greatest. The phages isolated were specific to strains of V. vulnificus, except for one isolate that caused lysis in a few strains of V. parahaemolyticus. Based on morphological evidence obtained by transmission electron microscopy, the isolates belonged to the Podoviridae, Styloviridae, and Myoviridae, three families of double-stranded DNA phages. One newly described morphotype belonging to the Podoviridae appears to be ubiquitous in Gulf Coast oysters. Isolates of this morphotype have an elongated capsid (mean, 258 nm; standard deviation, 4 nm; n = 35), with some isolates having a relatively broad host range among strains of V. vulnificus. Results from this study indicate that a morphologically diverse group of phages which infect V. vulnificus is abundant and widely distributed in oysters from estuaries bordering the northeastern Gulf of Mexico.

34. Evolution of Streptococcus thermophilus bacteriophage genomes by modular exchanges followed by point mutations and small deletions and insertions. Desiere, F., Lucchini, S., Brussow, H. (1998). Virology 241:345-356. Comparative sequence analysis of 40 % of the genomes from two prototype Streptococcus thermophilus bacteriophages (lytic group I phage fSfi19 and the cos-site containing temperate phage fSfi21) suggested two processes in the evolution of their genomes. In a first evolutionary distant phase the basic genome structure was apparently constituted by modular exchanges. Over the 17 kb long DNA segment analyzed in the present report we observed clusters of genes with similarity to genes from Leuconostoc oenos phage L10, Lactococcus lactis phage BK5-T and Streptococcus pneumoniae phage Dp-1. A chimeric protein was predicted for orf 1291 which showed similarity both to phage BK5-T and phage Dp-1. The very large orf 1626 gene product showed similarity to two adjacent genes from the Lactobacillus delbrueckii phage LL-H and further phage proteins (Lactococcus lactis, Bacillus subtilis). The similarities were localized to distinct parts of this apparently multifunctional protein. The putative fSfi19 lysin showed similarity both to lysins of phages and cellular enzymes. In a second evolutionary more recent phase the S. thermophilus phage genomes apparently diversified by point mutations and small deletions/insertions. Over the investigated 17 kb DNA region fSfi19 differed from fSfi21 by 10 % base pair changes, the majority of which were point mutations (mainly at the third codon position), while a third of the bp differences were contributed by small deletions/insertions. The bp changes were unevenly distributed: Over the Leuconostoc phage-related DNA the change rate was high, while over the Lactococcus- and S. pneumoniae phage-related DNA the change rate was low. We speculate that the degree of bp changes could provide relative time scales for the modular exchange reactions observed in S. thermophilus phages.

35. A leucine repeat motif in AbiA is required for resistance of Lactococcus lactis to phages representing three species. Dinsmore, P.K., O'Sullivan, D.J., Klaenhammer, T.R. (1998). Gene 212:5-11. The abiA gene encodes an abortive bacteriophage infection mechanism that can protect Lactococcus species from infection by a variety of bacteriophages including three unrelated phage species. Five heptad leucine repeats suggestive of a leucine zipper motif were identified be