Presence of lysogenic phage in the outbreak strains of Vibrio cholerae O139

Four outbreak strains of Vibrio cholerae O139 from endemic areas of India and Bangladesh were found to carry lysogenic phage(s). All of these phage(s) produced turbid plaques characteristic of lysogeny on V. cholerae MAK 757 (El Tor, Ogawa) cells as well as on their VcA-1 lysogens but were unable to infect V. cholerae 154 (classical) cells, the universal host for all classical phages. Colonies in the turbid plaques were O139 lysogens and these developed an auxotrophic requirement, mainly for purines suggesting the integration of the prophage into the host chromosome. The immunity profile of the O139 phage(s) was similar to that of phage alpha but differed in the sensitivity of the phage lysogen of V. cholerae MAK 757 to subsequent infection by phage beta.