EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Bacteriophages, also known as phages, are viruses that infect and replicate only in bacterial cells. They are ubiquitous in the environment and are recognized as the most abundant biological agent on earth.

Detailed explanation-2: -More common, but less understood, are cases of viruses infecting bacteria known as bacteriophages, or phages.

Detailed explanation-3: -To infect bacteria, most bacteriophages employ a ‘tail’ that stabs and pierces the bacterium’s membrane to allow the virus’s genetic material to pass through. The most sophisticated tails consist of a contractile sheath surrounding a tube akin to a stretched coil spring at the nanoscale.

Detailed explanation-4: -Examples are the conversion of harmless strains of Corynebacterium diphtheriae or Vibrio cholerae by bacteriophages, to highly virulent ones that cause diphtheria or cholera, respectively.

Detailed explanation-5: -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.