| Abstract: | Halophilic Bdellovibrio, which is parasitic and lytic to Vibrio parahaemolyticus, was isolated from fresh sea water in the winter. It had a lethal effect on V. parahaemolyticus. The optimum temperature for multiplication ranged from 25 C to 30 C and growth was not observed at 35 C. Plaque numbers of the isolate reached a maximum in 17 hr under conditions of shaking at 25 C in autoclaved sea water supplemented with V. parahaemolyticus cells, and were as high as ten times the number of host cells. With respect to the host-suspended medium, the isolate multiplied in natural sea water ten times more than in Herbst's artificial sea water but did not grow in saline. V. parahaemolyticus, Vibrio alginolyticus and several species in the Vibrio genus were susceptible to the parasite on the basis of plaque formation but Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were not. |
