Sobrevivencia de E Coli en AM (PDF).

D’Hérelle (1926) suggested that bacteriophages contribute to the self-purification process in natural waters, but ZoBell (1946) reported that they occurred sporadically and only in the littoral zone and concluded that there was insufficient evidence for bacteriophages to be considered of importance in limiting the bacterial population of the open ocean. Nevertheless, it was repeatedly stated in the literature (Carlucci and Pramer, 1959) that bacteriophages contribute to the rapid death and paucity of bacteria in sea water. Recent studies (Kriss and Rukina, 1947; Spencer, 1955) have shown that bacteriophages are not limited to the littoral zone but occur at points distant from land and at depths as great as 2000 meters. The bacteriophage isolated (1955) and studied (1957) by Spencer was active against several strains of the luminous marine bacterium Photobacterium phosphoreum. It caused lysis of host cells on sea water agar but not on tap water agar and appeared to be indigenous to the sea.
The present report describes the occurrence, persistence, and activity of some bacteriophages in sea water.