ULTRA-MORPHOLOGY OF COLIPHAGES ISOLATED FROM WATER

Using the ARCAT technique for coliphage detection, variations in diffe rent plaques have been noted. Investigation on the associated phage ul tra-morphology for 45 plaques isolated in different kinds of water in Sao Paulo State, Brazil indicated the phages involved belonged to thre e families: Myoviridae, Podoviridae and Siphoviridae. There were no ap parent relationship between coliphage family and specific plaque morph ology. Escherichia coli strain ATCC 13.706 detected a broad spectrum o f coliphage in water. A high diversity of coliphages were detected in the water analysed.