Enterobacteria phage T2 transmission electron micrograph

Enterobacteria phage T2 is a

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...

that infects and kills '' E. coli''. It is in the genus '' Tequatrovirus'', and the family ''

Myoviridae ''Myoviridae'' is a family of bacteriophages in the order '' Caudovirales''. Bacteria and archaea serve as natural hosts. There are 625 species in this family, assigned to eight subfamilies and 217 genera. Subdivisions The subfamily ''Tevenvirina ...

''. Its genome consists of linear double-stranded DNA, with repeats at either end. The phage is covered by a protective protein coat. The T2 phage can quickly turn an ''E. coli'' cell into a T2-producing factory that releases phages when the cell ruptures.

Experiments An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

conducted in 1952 by Alfred Hershey and

Martha Chase Martha Cowles Chase (November 30, 1927 – August 8, 2003), also known as Martha C. Epstein, was an American geneticist who in 1952, with Alfred Hershey, experimentally helped to confirm that DNA rather than protein is the genetic material ...

demonstrated how the DNA of viruses is injected into the bacterial cells, while most of the viral proteins remain outside. The injected DNA molecules cause the bacterial cells to produce more viral DNA and proteins. These discoveries supported that DNA, rather than proteins, is the hereditary material. The first phages that were studied in detail included seven that commonly infect ''E. coli.'' They were named Type 1 (T1), Type 2 (T2), etc., for easy reference; however, due to structural similarities between the T2, T4, and T6 bacteriophages, these are now commonly referred to as T-Even phages. The phage can attach to the surface of a bacterium using the proteins on its 'feet' (tail fibers), and inject its genetic material (either DNA or RNA). This genetic material uses the host cell's ribosomes to replicate, and synthesize proteins for the capsid and tail of the phage. New phages are assembled within the cell until the cellular membrane ''lyses'' (splits open). The newly made phages are now free to attack more cells. This process is known as the

Lytic cycle The lytic cycle ( ) is one of the two cycles of viral reproduction (referring to bacterial viruses or bacteriophages), the other being the lysogenic cycle. The lytic cycle results in the destruction of the infected cell and its membrane. Bacteri ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Enterobacteria Phage T2 Myoviridae Infraspecific virus taxa