Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Lytic Cycle of Bacteriophages

Lytic Cycle of Bacteriophages

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...

Lysogenic Cycle of Bacteriophages

Lysogenic Cycle of Bacteriophages

In contrast to the lytic cycle, phages infecting bacteria via the lysogenic cycle do not immediately kill their host cell. Instead, they combine their genome with the host genome, allowing the bacteria to replicate the phage DNA along with the bacterial genome. The incorporated copy of the phage genome is called the prophage. Some prophages can re-activate and enter the lytic cycle. This often occurs in response to a perturbation, such as DNA damage, but can also transpire in the absence of...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Preclinical Evaluation of a Phage T4-Based Multi-Epitope Nanoparticle Vaccine Against Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus.

Transboundary and emerging diseases·2026

Same author

Engineering the probiotic <i>Escherichia coli</i> Nissle 1917 as a host organism for coliphage production.

Synthetic and systems biotechnology·2026

Same author

Orchestrating triacylglycerol biosynthesis and hydrolysis via synthetic genetic circuits enhances spinosad production in Streptomyces albus.

Bioresource technology·2026

Same author

Endoplasmic Reticulum-Targeted Biomimetic Nanoparticles Potentiate the Immunotherapy of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer by Improving Immunogenicity and Eliminating Immune Resistance.

ACS nano·2026

Same author

Development of an efficient genome editing system using recombinase-mediated cassette exchange in <i>E. coli</i> Nissle 1917 for large gene cluster integration and heterologous astaxanthin production.

Synthetic and systems biotechnology·2026

Same author

Heterologous production of epothilones in <i>Streptomyces albus</i> J1074 via promoter engineering of the biosynthetic gene cluster and precursor supply enhancement.

Synthetic and systems biotechnology·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 14, 2025

A Simple and Efficient Approach to Construct Mutant Vaccinia Virus Vectors

A Simple and Efficient Approach to Construct Mutant Vaccinia Virus Vectors

Published on: October 30, 2016

Programming virulent bacteriophages by developing a multiplex genome engineering method.

Hailin Zhang^1,2, Ru Zhu¹, Zhaofei Wang³

¹State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-infectives, Shandong University-Helmholtz Institute of Biotechnology, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong, China.

|May 23, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

We developed a SMART method for engineering virulent bacteriophages (phages). This technique enables multiplex genome modification, creating custom phages to combat bacterial infections effectively.

Keywords:

genome engineering phage chassis phage engineering recombineering synthetic phages

More Related Videos

The MultiBac Protein Complex Production Platform at the EMBL

The MultiBac Protein Complex Production Platform at the EMBL

Published on: July 11, 2013

Phage-Mediated Genetic Manipulation of the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi

Phage-Mediated Genetic Manipulation of the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi

Published on: September 28, 2022

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 14, 2025

A Simple and Efficient Approach to Construct Mutant Vaccinia Virus Vectors

A Simple and Efficient Approach to Construct Mutant Vaccinia Virus Vectors

Published on: October 30, 2016

The MultiBac Protein Complex Production Platform at the EMBL

The MultiBac Protein Complex Production Platform at the EMBL

Published on: July 11, 2013

Phage-Mediated Genetic Manipulation of the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi

Phage-Mediated Genetic Manipulation of the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi

Published on: September 28, 2022

Area of Science:

Synthetic biology
Microbiology
Genetics

Background:

Virulent bacteriophages (phages) show promise for combating pathogenic bacteria.
Engineering virulent phage genomes is challenging due to rapid lysis and toxic gene products.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a method for multiplex genome engineering of virulent phages.
To create a chassis phage and synthetic phages with enhanced lytic capabilities.

Main Methods:

Developed the SMART (splitting, modifying, assembling, and rebooting) method.
Engineered the T7 E. coli phage genome by splitting, modifying, assembling, and rebooting.
Constructed synthetic T7 phages expressing heterologous lysins.

Main Results:

Successfully deleted 3.9 kb across 8 sites in the T7 phage genome, creating a chassis phage.
Demonstrated the insertion capacity and expression of exogenous genes in the chassis phage.
Engineered synthetic T7 phages that efficiently lyse E. coli, S. aureus, and S. agalactiae.

Conclusions:

The SMART method facilitates multiplex genome engineering of virulent phages.
Custom-designed phages can be created for therapeutic applications with enhanced efficacy and specificity.