ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ΦGF1, A MORPHOTYPE C3 BACTERIOPHAGE THAT INFECTS Escherichia coli

It has been isolated a lytic bacteriophage specific to Escherichiacoli, which can infect at least one different bacterial group. Phage ΦGF1 was isolated from a wastewater treatment plant. It is resistant to the effect of chloroform and is stable at 40 and 50 °C. In addition, it is stable in the range of pH 5-8. Its host range is wide, infecting even strains from another genus such as Shigella. The one-step growth curve yielded a short latent period of 15 minutes and a burst size of 85 PFU per infected cell. Under the electron microscope, this phage presents the C3 morphotype, extremely rare among members of the Podoviridae family. Phage ΦGF1 shows some characteristics that could be considered useful in biocontrol applications against E.coli.