Selection of Bacteriophage Resistant Mutants
Bacteria will be resistant to infection by a specific bacteriophage when the bacteria lose the ability to express that bacteriophage's receptor on their cell surface.
The loss of this ability is caused by a mutation in the bacterial DNA. This loss occurs spontaneously at a fairly low frequency; the frequency can be enhanced by mutagenic agents.
The cells resistant to infection are visible withing the area of the bacterial lawn that was spotted with bacteriophage. All sensitive cells were lysed and only the resistant cells were left to produce colonies within the spot.
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