"Phage" redirects here. For other uses, see Phage (disambiguation).
Structural model at atomic resolution of bacteriophage T4[1]The structure of a typical myovirus bacteriophageAnatomy and infection cycle of bacteriophage T4.
A bacteriophage (/bækˈtɪərioʊfeɪdʒ/), also known informally as a phage (/ˈfeɪdʒ/), is a virus that infects and replicates within bacteria and archaea. The term was derived from "bacteria" and the Greek φαγεῖν (phagein), meaning "to devour". Bacteriophages are composed of proteins that encapsulate a DNA or RNA genome, and may have structures that are either simple or elaborate. Their genomes may encode as few as four genes (e.g. MS2) and as many as hundreds of genes. Phages replicate within the bacterium following the injection of their genome into its cytoplasm.
Bacteriophages are among the most common and diverse entities in the biosphere.[2] Bacteriophages are ubiquitous viruses, found wherever bacteria exist. It is estimated there are more than 1031 bacteriophages on the planet, more than every other organism on Earth, including bacteria, combined.[3] Viruses are the most abundant biological entity in the water column of the world's oceans, and the second largest component of biomass after prokaryotes,[4] where up to 9x108 virions per millilitre have been found in microbial mats at the surface,[5] and up to 70% of marine bacteria may be infected by bacteriophages.[6]
Bacteriophages were used from the 1920s as an alternative to antibiotics in the former Soviet Union and Central Europe, as well as in France.[7][8] They are seen as a possible therapy against multi-drug-resistant strains of many bacteria (see phage therapy).[9][10][11][12]
Bacteriophages are known to interact with the immune system both indirectly via bacterial expression of phage-encoded proteins and directly by influencing innate immunity and bacterial clearance.[13] Phage–host interactions are becoming increasingly important areas of research.[14]
^Padilla-Sanchez V (2021). "Structural Model of Bacteriophage T4". WikiJournal of Science. 4 (1): 5. doi:10.15347/WJS/2021.005. S2CID 238939621.
^McGrath S, van Sinderen D, eds. (2007). Bacteriophage: Genetics and Molecular Biology (1st ed.). Caister Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-904455-14-1.
^LaFee S, Buschman H (25 April 2017). "Novel Phage Therapy Saves Patient with Multidrug-Resistant Bacterial Infection". UC Health – UC San Diego. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
^Suttle CA (September 2005). "Viruses in the sea". Nature. 437 (7057): 356–361. Bibcode:2005Natur.437..356S. doi:10.1038/nature04160. PMID 16163346. S2CID 4370363.
^m Prescott L (1993). Microbiology. Wm. C. Brown Publishers. ISBN 0-697-01372-3.
^Bunting J (1997). "The Virus that Cures". BBC Horizon. BBC Worldwide Ltd. OCLC 224991186. – Documentary about the history of phage medicine in Russia and the West
^Borrell B, Fishchetti V (August 2012). "Science talk: Phage factor". Scientific American. pp. 80–83. JSTOR 26016042.
^González-Mora A, Hernández-Pérez J, Iqbal HM, Rito-Palomares M, Benavides J (September 2020). "Bacteriophage-Based Vaccines: A Potent Approach for Antigen Delivery". Vaccines. 8 (3): 504. doi:10.3390/vaccines8030504. PMC 7565293. PMID 32899720.
^Keen EC (2012). "Phage therapy: concept to cure". Frontiers in Microbiology. 3: 238. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2012.00238. PMC 3400130. PMID 22833738.
^Cite error: The named reference Popescu was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Stone E, Campbell K, Grant I, McAuliffe O (June 2019). "Understanding and Exploiting Phage-Host Interactions". Viruses. 11 (6): 567. doi:10.3390/v11060567. PMC 6630733. PMID 31216787.
A bacteriophage (/bækˈtɪərioʊfeɪdʒ/), also known informally as a phage (/ˈfeɪdʒ/), is a virus that infects and replicates within bacteria and archaea...
Escherichia virus T4 is a species of bacteriophages that infect Escherichia coli bacteria. It is a double-stranded DNA virus in the subfamily Tevenvirinae...
therapy, viral phage therapy, or phagotherapy is the therapeutic use of bacteriophages for the treatment of pathogenic bacterial infections. This therapeutic...
Ff phages (fd and f1 are others), a member of the family filamentous bacteriophage (inovirus). Ff phages are composed of circular single-stranded DNA (ssDNA)...
Bacteriophage MS2 (Emesvirus zinderi), commonly called MS2, is an icosahedral, positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus that infects the bacterium Escherichia...
Bacteriophage P2, scientific name Escherichia virus P2, is a temperate phage that infects E. coli. It is a tailed virus with a contractile sheath and...
coliphage λ, officially Escherichia virus Lambda) is a bacterial virus, or bacteriophage, that infects the bacterial species Escherichia coli (E. coli). It was...
Bacteriophage AP205 is a plaque-forming bacteriophage that infects Acinetobacter bacteria. Bacteriophage AP205 is a protein-coated virus with a positive...
however, due to structural similarities between the T2, T4, and T6 bacteriophages, these are now commonly referred to as T-Even phages. The phage can...
The phi X 174 (or ΦX174) bacteriophage is a single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) virus that infects Escherichia coli. This virus was isolated in 1935 by Nicolas...
Filamentous bacteriophages are a family of viruses (Inoviridae) that infect bacteria, or bacteriophages. They are named for their filamentous shape, a...
Bacteriophage T7 (or the T7 phage) is a bacteriophage, a virus that infects bacteria. It infects most strains of Escherichia coli and relies on these...
Bacteriophage Qbeta (Qubevirus durum), commonly referred to as Qbeta or Qβ, is a species consisting of several strains of positive-strand RNA virus which...
Bacteriophage PBC1 is a bacteriophage that infects the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus cereus. Kong, Minsuk; Kim, Minsik; Ryu, Sangryeol (June 2012)...
mutans) have an average pairwise protein sequence identity of about 70%. Bacteriophages have been described for many species of Streptococcus. 18 prophages...
Bacteriophage T12 is a bacteriophage that infects Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria. It is a proposed species of the family Siphoviridae in the order Caudovirales...
closely with department head Jacques Bronfenbrenner to investigate bacteriophages, or phages—viruses that infect and replicate inside bacteria. Hershey's...
Bacteriophages (phages), potentially the most numerous "organisms" on Earth, are the viruses of bacteria (more generally, of prokaryotes). Phage ecology...
temperate bacteriophages, which are activated by various stimuli including changes in diet and antibiotics. Although first observed in bacteriophages, many...
virology. The subsequent discovery and partial characterization of bacteriophages by Frederick Twort and Félix d'Herelle further catalyzed the field,...
are bacteriophages which infect and destroy marine bacteria and control the growth of phytoplankton at the base of the marine food web. Bacteriophages are...
Bacteriophage Mu, also known as mu phage or mu bacteriophage, is a muvirus (the first of its kind to be identified) of the family Myoviridae which has...
Caudoviricetes is a class of viruses known as the tailed bacteriophages (cauda is Latin for "tail"). Under the Baltimore classification scheme, the Caudoviricetes...
bacteriophage T4 is a protein required for bacteriophage morphogenesis that acts catalytically rather than being incorporated into the bacteriophage structure...
Microviridae is a family of bacteriophages with a single-stranded DNA genome. The name of this family is derived from the ancient Greek word μικρός (mikrós)...
Global Information
