Images in Infectious Diseases in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Vaginal Lactobacillus phage plaques and electron micrograph.

Lin Tao and Sylvia I. Pavlova Department of Oral Biology, College of Dentisoy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL Normally, lactobacilli are a dominant species in the vagina and play an important role in maintaining vaginal health by producing hydrogen peroxide and lactic acid to inhibit other bacteria, such as pathogenic anaerobes. When bacterial vaginosis occurs, however, vaginal lactobacilli decrease or disappear for unknown reasons. Recently, we have observed that bacteriophages or viruses can infect vaginal lactobacilli. Here we present two figures to show these phages: (A) Photograph of Lactobacillus phage drop assay. Phages were induced from lactobacilli by mitomycin C and dropped onto a Lactobacillus indicator strain on soft agar plates. Note: Each of the small clear plaques in or near a lysis zone is caused by single phage. (B) Electron micrograph of vaginal Lactobacillus phage (bar 100 nm). (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.