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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]
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 hosts to propagate. Bacteriophage T7 has a lytic life cycle , meaning that it destroys the cell it infects.
The phage first adheres to the cell surface with its tail parallel to or leaning at an angle to the cell surface in the pre-infection stage. The tail then firmly stands on the cell surface and extends its fibers horizontally, rendering the phage infection-competent, after which viral DNA is released into the cell through an extensible tube.
Plants can play host to a wide range of pathogen types, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and even other plants. [35] Notable plant viruses include the papaya ringspot virus , which has caused millions of dollars of damage to farmers in Hawaii and Southeast Asia, [ 36 ] and the tobacco mosaic virus which caused scientist Martinus ...
In plant immunology, the hypersensitive response (HR) is a mechanism used by plants to prevent the spread of infection by microbial pathogens.HR is characterized by the rapid death of cells in the local region surrounding an infection and it serves to restrict the growth and spread of pathogens to other parts of the plant.
The restriction modification system (RM system) is found in bacteria and archaea, and provides a defense against foreign DNA, such as that borne by bacteriophages.. Bacteria have restriction enzymes, also called restriction endonucleases, which cleave double-stranded DNA at specific points into fragments, which are then degraded further by other endonucleases.
Lambda phage is a non-contractile tailed phage, meaning during an infection event it cannot 'force' its DNA through a bacterial cell membrane. It must instead use an existing pathway to invade the host cell, having evolved the tip of its tail to interact with a specific pore to allow entry of its DNA to the hosts.