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- Written by: Michael Mullan
- Discovery of bacteriophages for lactococci
- Bacteriophages for lactic acid bacteria
- Bacteriophage lysins
- Morphology and classification of bacteriophages
- Enumeration of bacteriophages
- Isolation and purification of bacteriophages
- Preparation and storage of high titre lactococcal lysates
- Industrial significance of lactococcal bacteriophages
- Bacteriophage control in cheese manufacture
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- Written by: Michael Mullan
- Details
- Written by: Michael Mullan
Any agent which inhibits starter activity or kills a strain with an essential function e.g. aroma production can have serious detrimental effects on the quality of the product being produced. Infection with bacteriophage is the major single cause of fermentation failure or of problems in fermentation processes utilising lactic acid bacteria.
The major functions of starters in dairy fermentations are shown in table 1. See the section on starters also.
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- Written by: Michael Mullan
The infection of a growing bacterial culture with phage is initiated by the adsorption of the phage to the host cell. The specificity of adsorption of lactococcal phages and the location of phage receptor substances have been studied and has been reviewed (Lawrence et. al., 1976).
Bradley (1967), in a classic review paper, summarised the principles of phage morphology and outlined six basic morphological types (fig. 1). The tailed phages, Bradley's groups A-C account for some 96% of all phages isolated to date and as discussed below belong to the order Caudovirales. Only phages in Group A have contractile tails. All tailed bacteriophages have a nucleic acid core surrounded by a protein coat. Phages active against lactic acid bacteria are approximately tadpole or sperm shaped and have a distinct head terminating in a tail with a hollow core.
Phages attacking lactic acid bacteria belong to Groups A, B and C and contain double stranded DNA. Phages in Groups D and F contain single stranded DNA, however, Group E phages contain single-stranded RNA.
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- Written by: Michael Mullan
- Details
- Written by: Michael Mullan
There are many reasons why information on the concentration of bacteriophage in a sample may be required. These include the determination of:
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- Written by: Michael Mullan
Abstract
Over 99% of phages detected using microscopy have not been cultured. This article explores factors that influence plaque formation and if addressed may help in phage isolation.
Current data indicate that some 1031 bacteriophages exist globally, including about 108 genotypes. Some phages form very tiny or micro plaques. These can sometimes be so small that it is almost impossible to see them. Frequently 'new' phages can be observed using e.g. electron microscopy under conditions where there is strong evidence of a potential host yet it can be very time consuming or in some instances not possible to get the phage to form plaques. Less than 1% of the phages observed using microscopy have ever been grown in culture, this is sometimes called "the great plaque count anomaly".
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- Written by: Michael Mullan
How do you isolate a bacteriophage (phage) and obtain a pure phage preparation? This is achieved by plating a phage suspension using the double agar method, and a susceptible host strain, to obtain plaques and further purifying the phage contained within the plaque.
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- Written by: Michael Mullan