Total number of phages in biosphere and in 1mL of nonpolluted water

Range biosphere 10^30 - 10^32phages: in 1mL nonpolluted water ~2×10^8 PFU of phages
Organism Bacteriophage
Reference Abuladze T et al., Bacteriophages reduce experimental contamination of hard surfaces, tomato, spinach, broccoli, and ground beef by Escherichia coli O157:H7. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2008 Oct74(20):6230-8. doi: 10.1128/AEM.01465-08. p.6237 left column 2nd paragraphPubMed ID18723643
Primary Source [7] Bergh, O., K. Y. Borsheim, G. Bratbak, and M. Heldal. 1989. High abundance of viruses found in aquatic environments. Nature 340: 467-468. [10] Brussow, H., and R. W. Hendrix. 2002. Phage genomics: small is beautiful. Cell 108: 13-16. [11] Brussow, H., and E. Kutter. 2005. Phage ecology, p. 129-163. In E. Kutter and A. Sulakvelidze (ed.), Bacteriophages: biology and application, 1st ed. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.PubMed ID2755508, 11792317
Comments P.6237 left column 2nd paragraph: "Bacteriophages are the most abundant organisms on this planet e.g., 1 ml of nonpolluted water has been reported (primary source 7) to contain approximately 2×10^8 PFU of phages, and the total number of phages on Earth has been estimated to be in the range of 10^30 to 10^32 (primary sources 10, 11). Bacteriophages are consumed daily by humans via the various foods they eat and water they drink. For example, phages have been commonly isolated from a wide range of food products, including ground beef, pork sausage, chicken, farmed freshwater fish, common carp and marine fish, oil sardines, raw skim milk, and cheese (refs 5, 18, 20-23, 45)." PFU=plaque-forming unit
Entered by Uri M
ID 112569