🔬 Microcolony

Discussion

<p>Bacterial lawns, as they mature, come to consist of a confluence of microcolonies. Phage plaque formation, as a consequence, occurs within the context of infection of microcolony-associated bacteria along with lysis of those bacteria.

To at least some degree the retention of turbidity within phage plaques, such as seen with bull's eye plaques, can be a retention of microcolonies that remain intact to varying degrees. The can occur either because the microcolony bacteria are completely resistant to the plaque-associated phages or instead because bacterial lawns mature to stationary phase prior to complete microcolony eradication by phages.

For more on especially the theory of phage-microcolony interactions, see Abedon (2011) and nih.gov/pubmed/22754643" class="bap-term" target=_blank>Abedon (2012).

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