Bacteriophage

A bacteriophage can be described as a type of virus that infects bacteria. To understand the meaning of the word bacteriophage in a precise manner, it can be said that it means – ‘bacteria eater’. This can be because bacteriophages have the ability to destroy their host cells. Thus, this was just to give a brief understanding regarding the concept of bacteriophage. As we move forward, we shall focus in detail on other topics such as understanding bacteria eaters and types of virus that infects bacteria.  

Bacteriophage

Bacteriophage can also be called a bacterial virus or phage. It can be described as a group of viruses which has the ability to infect bacteria. Bacteriophages can also lead to infection amongst the archaea which can be described as prokaryotic organisms, single-celled in nature. In the next section we shall focus on the characteristics and notable points regarding bacteriophages.

Bacteriophages – Characteristics 

There can be thousands of different phages existing. Phages can be categorized into diverse virus families, for example, Inoviridae, Rudiviridae, Tectiviridae and Microviridae. Similar to various viruses, one can also describe phages as simple organisms consisting of a core genetic material that is surrounded by a protein capsid. The nucleic acid can be either RNA or DNA and may also be single-stranded or double-stranded. 

Bacteriophages may be described as being present almost everywhere in the environment, that is having ubiquitous nature. They can be widely diverse in terms of their morphology, genomic organization and size. Similar to all viruses, bacteriophages can also be called as being very species-specific in accordance with their hosts. These bacteriophages are mainly a particular bacterial species or may even infect some particular strain that can be found in a species. 

One can say that the bacteriophage can attach itself to a vulnerable bacterium and thereby lead to an infection in the host cell. After the process of infecting the host cell, the bacteriophage takes over the cellular machinery of the bacterium to prevent it from the production of bacterial components. The bacteriophage forces the production of viral components in the cell. Further, one can note that the assembling of new bacteriophages takes place and there is bursting out of the bacterium in the method known as lysis. In laboratory research, phages are said to play a significant role. 

There can be various benefits of phages. The benefits can include the point that phages can be useful for overcoming the limitations of many antibiotics. Bacteria also have the ability to replicate rapidly, the selective pressure of antibiotics can encourage the appearance of strains that are antibiotic-resistant.

Thus, with the help of the above sections, one can gain a better understanding of bacteriophages, the types of virus that infects bacteria and the name bacteria eater.  

Conclusion

As observed from the above sections, an understanding of bacteriophages and their various aspects can be gained in a better manner. One can understand that the word bacteriophages refers to ‘bacteria eaters’. Thus, it can be said that small viruses known as bacteriophages can lead to infection in the bacteria. The bacteria can be described as having simply a DNA piece that is surrounded by a coat of protein. The bacteriophages can multiply very rapidly after attacking a bacterium. Thus, it can be concluded that with the help of the above discussion one can gain a better understanding of various concepts such as bacteriophages, the term bacteria eater, and the structure and characteristics of bacteriophages.