A coliphage is a type of
bacteriophage that infects
coliform bacteria
Coliform bacteria are defined as either motile or non-motile Gram-negative non- spore forming Bacilli that possess β-galactosidase to produce acids and gases under their optimal growth temperature of 35-37°C. They can be aerobes or facultative ...
such as ''
Escherichia coli
''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus '' Esc ...
''. Coliphage originate almost exclusively from
human feces and from other
warm-blooded
Warm-blooded is an informal term referring to animal species which can maintain a body temperature higher than their environment. In particular, homeothermic species maintain a stable body temperature by regulating metabolic processes. The onl ...
animals. They undergo limited replication in sewage and contaminated waters under specific conditions, such as a high density of susceptible hosts at optimal temperatures.
Examples include
''Enterobacteria phage λ'' and species from the family
Fersviridae. Coliphage levels reflect the persistence of
pathogenic viruses
A viral disease (or viral infection) occurs when an organism's body is invaded by pathogenic viruses, and infectious virus particles (virions) attach to and enter susceptible cells.
Structural Characteristics
Basic structural characteristics, s ...
in the environment and have been proposed as an indicator of fecal contamination in water.
References
External links
*
A science projecttargeted towards students showing an example of the use of Coliphages
Bacteriophages
{{Virus-stub