Enterobacteria Phage T4

Enterobacteria Phage T4

T-4 bacteriophage is a bacteriophage that infects E. coli bacteria. Its double-stranded DNA genome is about 169 kbp long and is held in an icosahedral head, also known as a capsid. T4 is a relatively large phage, at approximately 90 nm wide and 200 nm long (most phages range from 25 to 200 nm in length). Its tail fibres allow attachment to a host cell, and the T4’s tail is hollow so that it can pass its nucleic acid to the cell it is infecting during attachment. T4 is capable of undergoing only a lytic lifecycle and not the lysogenic lifecycle.