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T4 bacteriophage, artwork
T4 bacteriophage, artwork. A bacteriophage, or phage, is a virus that infects bacteria. It consists of an icosahedral (20-sided) head (top), which contains the genetic material, a tail (cylinder) and tail fibres (leg-like), which fix it to a specific receptor site. Once it is attached to a bacterium, the bacteriophage injects its DNA and the bacterium's cellular mechanisms are used to produce more bacteriophages. The T4 bacteriophage is around 90 nanometres wide and 200 nanometres long. It infects E. coli bacteria in what is known as a lytic cycle, which is one that destroys the bacteria used to produce new bacteriophages.
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