The Metastable Associations of Bacteriophages and Erwinia amylovora

Abstract Cultivation of bacteria and phages on solid media can serve as a model for studying the interaction of phage and bacterial population under the diffusion-limited conditions, which frequently take place in nature. Here we describe bacteriophages VyarbaL and Hena2, the members of the Molineuxvirinae and the Ounavirinae subfamilies, respectively, that are able to form the pseudolysogenic associations (PA) with their host E. amylovora 1/79Sm on solid media. These PAa were stable through multiple passages. The phenomenon of the PA formation between a bacterial culture and bacteriophages affect the effectiveness of preparations based on virulent bacteriophages.