Abstract
CULTURES of Vibrio cholerae are very sensitive to thymol. The addition of 50 mgm. of this substance to 10 ml. of 4-hr. broth cultures results in rapid clearing due to massive lysis of the organisms. This takes about 30–45 min. at 37° C., by which time the cultures are sterile. As thymol is soluble in aqueous media only to the extent of 1 in 1,500, the effective concentration required to lyse V. cholerae may be of this order. The rapidity with which this occurs simulates the phenomenon of ‘induction’ observed in certain lysogenic bacteria, when they are exposed to ultra-violet radiation or X-rays or treated with chemical mutagens. However, lysogenic cultures of V. cholerae exposed to thymol do not reveal any appreciable increase in free phage particles in the lysates. Further, ‘indicator’ strains which have proved useful in the detection of lysogenic strains and which appear to be non-lysogenic themselves are lysed equally effectively by thymol.
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BHASKARAN, K. Lysis of Vibrio cholerae by Thymol. Nature 180, 43 (1957). https://doi.org/10.1038/180043a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/180043a0
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