Studies on the d'Hérelle phenomenon

The inhibition produced by the lytic agent on the growth of Bacillus coli is greatly influenced by the reaction of the medium; it is faint in a slightly acid (pH 6.8) or neutral (pH 7) or even slightly alkaline broth (pH 7.4), but is much stronger in a more alkaline medium (pH 8 or 8.5). We have isolated from the original strain of Bacillus coli two types of organisms; one (Type S) is sensitive to the lytic agent, the other (Type R) is much more resistant. These types are distinguished also by other characteristics: Type S grows quickly in artificial medium and is non-motile; Type R grows more slowly, is extremely motile, much less phagocytable, and more virulent. Both types produce indole and ferment carbohydrates, with the exception of saccharose. Both types keep their individuality even after passage through a guinea pig. We have also demonstrated that even a culture of a single type, Type S for instance, is not a homogeneous whole but is made up of organisms of varying resistance to the lytic agent; only a few are resistant enough to overcome the strong action of the undiluted lytic agent. On the other hand, only a few as well are sufficiently sensitive to be dissolved even by very dilute lytic agent. This explains why dilute lytic agent spread on an agar plate seeded with Bacillus coli confines its action only to certain places and produces the small round areas of dissolution that d'Hérelle considered as "colonies of bacteriophage." Moreover, we have observed the same localized action even with non-dilute lytic agent when submitting to its action cultures of greater resistance. Our original lytic agent was found to be specific; it acted exclusively on the coli with which the guinea pigs were injected. By allowing this original lytic principle to act on broth cultures of our two types of Bacillus coli, we have obtained two new filtrates. The first, resulting from dissolution of the sensitive Strain S, is specific as is the original filtrate. But with the second, obtained from the resistant Strain R, Dr. Wollstein has found a marked action on Shiga, on Flexner, and on Hiss dysentery bacilli. In consequence of this observation, we have been able, by a method of successive passages through appropriate strains, to extend the lytic power to other species, as typhoid and paratyphoid bacilli, and have obtained by this somewhat different technique results similar to those recently published by Bordet and Ciuca.