36 Perspecf'ives in Microbiology 



zation of the prophage, which had been thought a likely 

 inhabitant of the cytoplasm. 



Recombination also gives logistic support to other ex- 

 perimentation, for example, in biochemistry or immu- 

 nology, by allowing the rational construction of prespeci- 

 fied combinations of genetic factors. The potential of 

 recombination methods in applied microbiology should 

 be so obvious as to obviate comment but has generally 

 been overlooked in favor of more routine screening 

 methods. 



Finally, but not exhaustively, the very occurrence of 

 recombination illuminates both taxonomy and evolution, 

 for example, in rationalizing the otherwise unintelligible 

 list of serological types of Salmonella (29). These find- 

 ings, in turn, may reopen the question of how much reli- 

 ance should be placed on serological typing of Salmonella 

 as a clinical rather than an epidemiological tool. Although 

 distinctions between serotypes are entrenched in the public 

 health laws of many states, supposedly innocuous serotypes 

 such as S. typhimuriiim are too often ignorant of the legal 

 definitions of paratyphoid fever. 



To offer seriously any prescription for the future of 

 science would require a calculated blend of presumption 

 and inattention to history. If such predictions were ac- 

 curate, we would be disappointed, for they are the measure 

 of the bounds of current thought that we hope to over- 

 reach. The perspectives of current microbiological science 

 might be mistaken for prophecy; but the wisest prophet 

 would look beyond the visible horizon for the questions 

 we are not yet ready to ask. 



References 



1. Anderson, E. S., and Felix, A. The Vi type-determining phages 

 carried by Salmonella typhi. J. Gen. Microbiol, 9:65-88, 1953. 



2. Armitage, P. Statistical concepts in the theory of bacterial mu- 

 tation. /. Hyg., 51:162-184, 1953. 



