INTRODUCTION

 Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria.

 Are obligate intracellular parasites that multiply inside bacteria by making use of some or all of
the host biosynthetic machinery.
 Carry only the genetic information needed for replication of their nucleic acid and synthesis of
their protein coats .
 They require precursors , energy generation and ribosomes supplied by their bacterial host
cell.
 Twort (1915)- described degenerative change in staphylococcal colonies.
 d’Herelle (1917) – observed that filtrates from feces culture from dysentery patients induced
transmissible lysis.
 He suggested that lytic agent was a virus and named it bacteriophage.
 There are three basic structural forms of phage: an icosahedral (20-sided) head with a tail, an
icosahedral head without a tail, and a filamentous form.
Types of phages
 MORPHOLOGY
 Coli-phages, called T-even phages (T2, T4, T6… series) which
attack E. coli .
 T-even phage is a prototype of bacterial viruses.
 It is tadpole-shaped with polyhedral head, a short neck and
collar and a straight tail.
 The head - It is hexagonal and contains a tightly packed
core of double- stranded DNA covered by a protein coat
(capsid). The head has a diameter of 65 nm and is 100 nm
long.
 The tail is in the form of a hollow cylinder. It consists of a
central hollow core surrounded by a spring-like contractile
sheath. Through the core, the phage chromosome travels
into the host cell.
 Terminal base plate having tail fibres attached.
.
 LIFE CYCLE
Phages exhibit two different types of life cycle,

1. Virulent or lytic cycle.

2. Temperate or lysogenic cycle.

 Lytic cycle
1. Adsorption:

 Phage particles come into contact with bacterial cells by random collision.

 Phage attaches to the surface of a susceptible bacterium by its tail.

 It is a specific process and depends on the presence of receptor sites on

the bacterial cell for the terminal base plate of the phage.

 Cofactors like cations are necessary for adsorption.

2. Penetration

 The phage DNA is injected into the bacterial body through thje hollow
core.
 The infection of a bacterium by the nucleic acid is known as transfection.
 The base plate and the tail fibres are held firmly against the bacterial
cell.
 The hollow core pierces the cell wall.
 Penetration facilitated by lysozyme producing hole in bacterial cell wall .
 The contractile tail sheath injects the phage DNA.
 After penetration , the empty head and tail of the phage remain outside
the bacterium.
3. Synthesis of Phage components

 Synthesis of bacterial protein , DNA , and RNA ceases.

 First products to be synthesised are called early proteins which are

enzymes.

 Then late proteins appear which include protein subunits of the phage
head and tail.
 4. Assembly , maturation and release

 Phage DNA , head protein and tail proteins synthesised separately.

 DNA condensed and packaged into head. Finally tail structures are
added.
 This assembly of phage components into mature infective phage
particle is known as Maturation.
 Bacterial cell wall weakens and assume spherical shape.
 Phage enzymes cause bacterial cell wall to lyse and daughter
phages released.
Lysogenic cycle

• The lysogenic cycle allows a phage to reproduce without killing its host.

 In the lysogenic cycle, the first two steps (attachment and DNA injection) occur just as they do for the
lytic cycle. However, once the phage DNA is inside the cell, it is not immediately copied or expressed
to make proteins.
 Instead, it recombines with a particular region of the bacterial chromosome. This causes the phage
DNA to be integrated into the chromosome. 
 The integrated phage DNA, called a prophage, is not active: its genes aren't expressed, and it doesn't
drive production of new phages.
 However, each time a host cell divides, the prophage is copied along with the host DNA, getting a
free ride.
 The lysogenic cycle is less flashy (and less gory) than the lytic cycle, but at the end of the day, it's just
another way for the phage to reproduce.
 Under the right conditions, the prophage can become active and come back out of the bacterial
chromosome, triggering the remaining steps of the lytic cycle (DNA copying and protein synthesis,
phage assembly, and lysis).