Bacteriophage prevalence in environments

Bacteriophages typically are thought to exist in essentially nearly every environment in which bacteria are able to survive. Phage numbers in these environments can be very high (e.g., 10⁶to 10¹⁰phages/ml can be typical).

Methods for determining phage numbers in environments include...

1. Viable count (typical plate count)
2. Transmission electron microscopy
3. Epifluorescence microscopy
4. Flow cytometry
5. Determination of prophage presence in environmental bacteria
   

Envirionments in which phages have been found include food, rumen, seawater, soil, etc.

Links

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phage_ecology#Vastness_of_phage_ecology

Internal hierarchy

1. phage.atwiki.com
2. (bacteriophage ecology)
3. bacteriophage environmental microbiology
4. bacteriophage prevalence in environments