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A bacteriophage (/ b æ k ˈ t ɪər i oʊ f eɪ dʒ /), also known informally as a phage (/ ˈ f eɪ dʒ /), is a virus that infects and replicates within bacteria and archaea. The term is derived from Ancient Greek φαγεῖν (phagein) 'to devour' and bacteria .
Bacteriophages are bacterial viruses, evolved to infect bacterial cells. To do that, phages must use characteristic structures at cell surfaces (receptors), and to propagate they need appropriate molecular tools inside the cells. Bacteria are prokaryotes, and their cells differ substantially from eukaryotes, including humans or animals. [114]
Virophages need to have a co-infecting virus in order for them to replicate. The virophages do not have the necessary enzymes to replicate on their own. Virophages use the giant viral replication machinery to replicate their own genomes and continue their existence. The host range for virophages include giant viruses with double stranded DNA ...
The lytic cycle (/ ˈ l ɪ t ɪ k / LIT-ik) is one of the two cycles of viral reproduction (referring to bacterial viruses or bacteriophages), the other being the lysogenic cycle. The lytic cycle results in the destruction of the infected cell and its membrane.
It is estimated viruses kill 20% of the microorganism biomass each day and that there are 15 times as many viruses in the oceans as there are bacteria and archaea. Viruses are the main agents responsible for the rapid destruction of harmful algal blooms , [ 106 ] which often kill other marine life. [ 107 ]
In order for the T-even phage to infect its host and begin its life cycle it must enter the first process of infection, adsorption of the phage to the bacterial cell. Adsorption is a value characteristic of phage-host pair and the adsorption of the phage on host cell surface is illustrated as a 2-stage process: reversible and irreversible.
How long do they last? Symptoms begin 12 to 48 hours after exposure to the virus and last for about 1 to 3 days. Even after recovering, infected individuals can be contagious for two more weeks.
The phage is covered by a protective protein coat. The T2 phage can quickly turn an E. coli cell into a T2-producing factory that releases phages when the cell ruptures. Experiments conducted in 1952 by Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase demonstrated how the DNA of viruses is injected into the bacterial cells, while most of the viral proteins ...