P. C. Flu. The Bacteriophage. A Historical and Critical Survey of 25 Years Research

The 165 page review is concerned with the problem of the nature of bacteriophage. Is it a living, autonomous agent that parasitizes the bacterial cell or is it produced in the cell by some autocatalytic process? Some of the more pertinent questions and subjects reviewed in detail are: 1) Is phage produced by microbes in their defense of the micro-organism or is it a substance formed by the action of ferments on microbes? 2) Does phage originate by bacterial mutation or variation or should it be regarded as a stage in the life-cycle of bacteria? 3) Does phage occur as a consequence of microbial antagonism or as the result of disintegration of bacteria? 4) Is phage formed by the action of chemicals in microbes? 5) The “Splitter” doctrine of Bail. 6) Bacteriophage and spore bearing microbes. 7) Hypothesis on the origin of virus and phage built up after the discovery of the virus protein by Stanley.