Lysogeny in Streptococcus bovis

Forty-eight strains of Streptococcus bovis were tested for induction with mitomycin C. Eleven inducible strains were found and the lysates of all 11 contained bacteriophage-like particles. The lysate of one strain also contained large numbers of particles which closely resembled polyheads. Eight of the lysates produced zones of inhibition on indicator strains and viable bacteriophages were detected in six lysates. The sources of the S. bovis were ovine and bovine rumen fluid (23 strains), ovine and bovine feces (5 strains), blood cultures from human endocarditis (8 strains), and a wide variety of other sources (12 strains). Only 1 of 23 rumen S. bovis strains was lysogenic, which suggests that lysogenic S. bovis strains are not an important source of bacteriophages in the rumen.