Bacteriophage concentration in soil associated with plant roots in sugar beet

Value 1e+7 phages/gram soil
Organism Biosphere
Reference Chibani-Chennoufi S, Bruttin A, Dillmann ML, Brüssow H. Phage-host interaction: an ecological perspective. J Bacteriol. 2004 Jun186(12):3677-86 DOI: 10.1128/JB.186.12.3677-3686.2004 p.3678 left column 2nd paragraphPubMed ID15175280
Primary Source [1] Ashelford KE, Day MJ, Fry JC. Elevated abundance of bacteriophage infecting bacteria in soil. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2003 Jan69(1):285-9 DOI: 10.1128/aem.69.1.285-289.2003PubMed ID12514006
Method Primary source abstract: "Here [investigators] report the first direct counts of soil bacteriophage and show that substantial populations of these viruses exist in soil (grand mean = 1.5×10^7/g), at least 350-fold more than the highest numbers estimated from traditional viable plaque counts. Adding pure cultures of a Serratia phage to soil showed that the direct counting methods with electron microscopy developed here underestimated the added phage populations by at least eightfold."
Comments P.3678 left column 2nd paragraph: "Terrestrial ecosystems, e.g., soil associated with plant roots in sugar beet fields, revealed 10^7 viruses per gram by using transmission electron microscopy (primary source)."
Entered by Uri M
ID 117026