I have isolated Acidothiobacillus thiooxidans from environmental rust samples using ATCC 9K media. The pH of 9K media varies between 2.5-3.0, making a highly acidic environment for bacteria to grow. I want to isolate phages against this bacteria, but phages will not be able to tolerate a pH of 2.5-3.0. I tried growing the bacteria on Luria Agar, but it didn't grow due to pH variation.
What should be the media combination or other conditions that can make phages infect the host without compromising its growth?
Hi! You will have to use the growth conditions favorable for the organism, low pH or not. If there are phages, they will be able to tolerate those. Otherwise, some magnesium or/and calcium (5-10 mM) could facilitate a phage infection.
I agree with Alexey P Korepanov that bacteriophages have likely evolved to tolerate the conditions where the bacteria grow the natural environment. If you are worried about the low pH you might adjust your 9K medium to be a bit more basic (pH 4 for example) but I don't know that this is necessary.
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