Correlation of staphylococcal bacteriophage types to L-form colony production.

The ability of 258 strains of Staphylococcus aureus and 132 strains of S. epidermidis to produce L-form colonies in a standard environment was investigated. Production of these colonies by S. aureus was correlated with their phage type. Phage type 7 strains produced L-form colonies in larger numbers and more consistently than those of phage type 80/81. No L-form colonies were produced by the S. epidermidis strains tested.