False Alarm?

On Monday I was really excited because I had a possible phage! The thought of never collecting soil again was exciting! However, when I entered lab on Wednesday, and grabbed my plate, my hope was disappointed. I definitely had something lysogenic on my plate. Something ate away some of the bacteria. However, it was most likely not a phage. A phage would eat the bacteria completely, leaving clear spots on the plate. However, my plate had rings eaten away. In other words, it appears that there is a bacteria in my soil sample that is eating away – not a phage. However, I am not giving up hope yet. I refiltered all my possible plaques from Monday. I also picked the plaques again from this plate. I just want to make sure that it is definitely not a phage! So as of now, I have a 5% hope that it is maybe a phage…but I sense that next lab I will be back digging up more soil.