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Bacteriophage
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A bacteriophage, or phage for short, is a virus, but one with no interest in us: it infects bacteria and multiplies only inside them.
Once inside, it can take either of two routes. In the lytic cycle it introduces its genome, which is its set of instructions, into the bacterium and takes over the machinery the cell was using to build its own proteins, putting it to work turning out virus parts. In the lysogenic cycle it does something quieter: that same genome is folded into the bacterial chromosome, the package where the bacterium keeps its information, and stays there rather than finishing the cell off right away.
Phages are also picky. Most infect a single species of bacteria, and often only certain strains within that species.
In brief
Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that infect and replicate only within bacteria.
In the lytic cycle the phage introduces its genome into the bacterial cytoplasm and commandeers the cell's machinery to manufacture viral proteins.
In the lysogenic cycle the phage integrates its genome into the bacterial chromosome instead of destroying the bacterium right away.
Most phages infect only a single bacterial species, and frequently only particular strains within it.
Sources (2)
- National Center for Biotechnology InformationBacteriophages. StatPearls
- National Center for Biotechnology InformationGenetics. Medical Microbiology, 4th editionPublished
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