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The species concept and its application to tailed phages

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Summary

A recently proposed polythetic definition of virus species appears easily applicable to bacteriophages. Criteria for classification of tailed phages are evaluated. Morphology, DNA homology, and serology are the most important criteria for delineation of species, but no single criterion is satisfactory. Dot-blot hybridization and seroneutralization may suggest false relationships by detecting common sequences in the DNA of otherwise unrelated phages. Species of tailed phages can be defined by a combination of morphology and DNA homology or serology. A procedure for identification of novel phages is outlined. Phage names should include elements of host names.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Quebec, Canada

    H. -W. Ackermann

  2. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

    M. S. DuBow

  3. New Zealand Dairy Research Institute, Palmerston North, New Zealand

    A. W. Jarvis

  4. Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, USA

    L. A. Jones

  5. Institute for Genetics of Microorganisms, Moscow, USSR

    V. N. Krylov

  6. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, New York, USA

    J. Maniloff

  7. Laboratoire des Listeria, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France

    J. Rocourt

  8. Office of Research and Development, Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

    R. S. Safferman

  9. Abteilung für angewandte Genetik, Universität Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Federal Republic of Germany

    J. Schneider

  10. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Microbiologia, Centro de Ciências de Saúde, Cidade Universitaria, Ilha do Fundáo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    L. Seldin

  11. Centro Sperimentale del Latte, Zelo Bon Persico, Italy

    T. Sozzi

  12. Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

    P. R. Stewart

  13. Institut Agricole et Alimentaire de Lille, Université des Sciences et Techniques de Lille Flandres Artois, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France

    M. Werquin

  14. Institut für Biotechnologie, Leipzig, Federal Republic of Germany

    L. Wünsche

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  1. H. -W. Ackermann
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  2. M. S. DuBow
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  9. J. Schneider
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Ackermann, H.W., DuBow, M.S., Jarvis, A.W. et al. The species concept and its application to tailed phages. Archives of Virology 124, 69–82 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01314626

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01314626

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