Question

Do bacteriophages walk?

Answer 1

Bacteriophages:

1. They are viruses that tend to infect and replicate inside a bacterial cell, like P1 phage, phi X 174, etc.
2. This forces bacterial cellular machinery to replicate and create more copies of the bacteriophage genome.
3. At later stages, the bacterial cell ruptures to release the multiplied copy of the bacteriophage genome(lysis stage).
4. However, in some cases (lysogenic cycle), this genome can integrate into the bacterial genome and remains dormant for some time.
5. Whenever conditions are suitable, the dormant genome becomes active to lyse the cell and get released to infect other bacterial cells.
6. Habitat- they are found wherever bacteria exist, i.e. almost every habitat.
7. Example- rocks, oceans, soil, snow, on or inside organisms (plants and animals-including humans).

Walking of bacteriophage:

1. The T7 bacteriophage has been observed by researchers to “walk” on the surface of E.coli to find a productive site for infection.
2. Walking refers to the movement of viruses on the bacterial surface and they depend on certain receptors present on the bacterial cell surface.