The best things in life are often the unexpected ones. I was on my final round of testing before I called it quits on trying for an anthrobacter phage and switched over to mSMEG, when these little beauties finally appeared. I almost didn’t run this spot test since all four of these samples had been tested before, but when I saw that the enrichments had developed mold anaerobically after I accidentally tightened the lids on them, I figured I might as well give it shot. To be honest I was not expecting much, but needless to say I was pleasantly surprised. None of these samples produced a phage after being enriched and incubated aerobically, yet being allowed to sit in anaerobic conditions for a week or so seems to have had a strengthening effect on the phages in the samples since they produced lysogenic spots when tested for a second time. My only guess is that perhaps the kind of phage that cleared the anthrobacter thrives in those conditions and becomes stronger when subjected to them. That would explain why all four of these previously negative samples have now produced positive results. Either way, I am excited to start the next stage of the process- purification rounds here I come…