Molecular biology
VIRION
Nonenveloped, head-tail structure. The icosahedral head is about 85 nm in diameter and virions also produce head size variants (about 47-65 nm). The tail is long, 215 nm, contractile, has 6 long kinked fibers and base plates.
GENOME
Linear, dsDNA genome of about 100 kb, encoding for approximately 100 proteins.
GENE EXPRESSION
Genes are transcribed by operons.
REPLICATION
CYTOPLASMIC
- Adsorption: the phage attaches to target cell trhough its tail fibers.
- Viral lysozyme degrades cell wall locally
- Injection: viral DNA is injected in host cell periplasm by contraction of the tail
- Transcription and traduction of early genes
- Replication of genomic DNA
- Transcription and traduction of late genes
- Assembly of new virions in host cell cytoplasm
- Mature virions are released from the cell by lysis