Bacteriophage

A virus that infects bacteria and uses their cellular machinery to reproduce. Some bacteriophages destroy their host cells, while others persist without immediately killing them.

Lytic cycle: A viral replication cycle that produces new virus particles and ends by rupturing the host cell. Many bacteriophages use this cycle to release progeny by lysing an infected bacterium.
Bacteriophage lambda: A temperate virus of Escherichia coli capable of both lysogenic and lytic growth. Its well-studied life cycle illustrates the choice between dormancy and active replication.
Phage therapy: The treatment of bacterial infections using bacteriophages that infect the disease-causing bacteria. It applies phage host specificity to target bacterial pathogens.
Lysogenic conversion: A change in a bacterium’s traits caused by genes carried by an integrated bacteriophage. Prophage genes can give bacteria new properties, including toxin production.
Lysogenic cycle: A viral replication strategy in which viral genetic material persists in a host cell, often integrated into its genome. Temperate phages can remain dormant as prophages before entering active replication.
T4 bacteriophage: A large, lytic bacteriophage that infects Escherichia coli and has a complex protein structure. It provides a classic example of a phage that rapidly replicates and lyses its host.
Phage typing: A method of identifying bacterial strains by their susceptibility to a set of bacteriophages. Different phage-sensitivity patterns can distinguish bacterial isolates.
Cholera toxin: A protein toxin produced by Vibrio cholerae that causes severe watery diarrhea. The genes encoding it are carried by a bacteriophage integrated into the bacterium.
Bacteriophage adsorption: The attachment of a bacteriophage to specific structures on a bacterial cell surface. Host recognition begins when phage proteins bind bacterial receptors.
Phage display: A laboratory technique that presents peptides or proteins on a bacteriophage surface for selection and study. Engineered phages can display molecules that bind chosen targets.

Linked from 21 pages