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Related Concept Videos

Lytic Cycle of Bacteriophages01:30

Lytic Cycle of Bacteriophages

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Bacteriophages, also known as phages, are specialized viruses that infect bacteria. A key characteristic of phages is their distinctive “head-tail” morphology. A phage begins the infection process (i.e., lytic cycle) by attaching to the outside of a bacterial cell. Attachment is accomplished via proteins in the phage tail that bind to specific receptor proteins on the outer surface of the bacterium. The tail injects the phage’s DNA genome into the bacterial cytoplasm. In the...
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DNA Bacteriophages01:26

DNA Bacteriophages

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Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that specifically infect bacteria, utilizing their genetic material to hijack host cellular machinery for replication. DNA bacteriophages employ single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) or double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) genomes. These phages exhibit diverse replication strategies and host interactions, influencing their ecological roles and applications in biotechnology and medicine.ssDNA BacteriophagesssDNA phages, with their small genomes, utilize unique strategies to...
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Viral Replication: Lytic Cycle01:20

Viral Replication: Lytic Cycle

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Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that specifically infect bacteria. Among them, T-even bacteriophages, such as T4, exhibit a well-characterized lytic replication cycle in Escherichia coli (E. coli). This process ensures the rapid proliferation of the virus while ultimately leading to the destruction of the bacterial host.Attachment and DNA InjectionThe infection process begins with the recognition and binding of the T4 phage to the E. coli cell surface. Tail fibers of the phage...
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Ribozymes02:47

Ribozymes

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The term ribozyme is used for RNA that can act as an enzyme. Ribozymes are mainly found in selected viruses, bacteria, plant organelles, and lower eukaryotes. Ribozymes were first discovered in 1982 when Tom Cech’s laboratory observed Group I introns acting as enzymes. This was shortly followed by the discovery of another ribozyme, Ribonulcease P, by Sid Altman’s laboratory. Both Cech and Altman received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1989 for their work on ribozymes.
Ribozymes can...
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Viral Replication: Lysogenic Cycle01:16

Viral Replication: Lysogenic Cycle

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The lysogenic cycle is a crucial viral replication strategy that allows bacteriophages to persist within host cells without immediately destroying them. This process is primarily observed in temperate phages, such as bacteriophage lambda (λ), which infects Escherichia coli. The cycle allows the viral genome to persist across bacterial generations while keeping host cells viable.Integration of the Viral GenomeUpon infection, bacteriophage lambda attaches to the bacterial surface and injects...
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CRISPR and crRNAs02:53

CRISPR and crRNAs

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Bacteria and archaea are susceptible to viral infections just like eukaryotes; therefore, they have developed a unique adaptive immune system to protect themselves. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated proteins (CRISPR-Cas) are present in more than 45% of known bacteria and 90% of known archaea.
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Updated: Jul 17, 2025

Bacterial Artificial Chromosomes: A Functional Genomics Tool for the Study of Positive-strand RNA Viruses
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Picobirnaviruses encode proteins that are functional bacterial lysins.

Tianyu Gan1, David Wang1,2

  • 1Department of Molecular Microbiology, School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|September 5, 2023
PubMed
Summary

Picobirnaviruses, previously thought to infect animals, are shown to infect bacteria. These RNA viruses encode enzymes that lyse E. coli, supporting their role as RNA phages in the gut.

Keywords:
RNA phagebacterialysinpicobirnavirus

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Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Microbiology
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Picobirnaviruses (PBVs) are double-stranded RNA viruses found in human and animal gut microbiomes.
  • PBVs have been linked to diseases like graft-versus-host disease and gestational diabetes.
  • Their hosts and infection mechanisms remain largely unknown, with prior assumptions focusing on animal hosts.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the host and function of picobirnaviruses.
  • To determine if PBVs infect bacterial hosts.
  • To understand the implications of PBV host identification for RNA virus evolution.

Main Methods:

  • Genomic analysis of PBVs to identify potential functional genes.
  • Experimental validation of PBV-encoded genes.
  • Bacterial lysis assays using Escherichia coli.

Main Results:

  • Multiple PBVs across different genome organizations encode bacterial lysins.
  • These lysins were demonstrated to effectively lyse Escherichia coli.
  • The presence of lysin genes aligns with characteristics of bacteriophages.

Conclusions:

  • PBVs function as RNA phages infecting bacterial hosts in the human gut.
  • This finding necessitates a reevaluation of PBV's impact on human health.
  • The discovery expands the known diversity of RNA phages, impacting evolutionary studies.