Enterobacteria phage T4
Enterobacteria phage T4 is a bacteriophage that infects Escherichia coli bacteria. The T4 phage is a member of the T-even phages, a group including enterobacteriophages T2 and T6. T4 is capable of undergoing only a lytic lifecycle and not the lysogenic lifecycle.
Genome and structure
The T4 phage's double-stranded DNA genome is about 169 kbp long and encodes 289 proteins. The T4 genome is terminally redundant and is first replicated as a unit, then several genomic units are recombined end-to-end to form a concatemer. When packaged, the concatemer is cut at unspecific positions of the same length, leading to several genomes that represent circular permutations of the original. The T4 genome bears eukaryote-like intron sequences.
Translation
The Shine-Dalgarno sequence GAGG dominates in bacteriophage T4 early genes, whereas the sequence GGAG is a target for the T4 endonuclease RegB that initiates the early mRNA degradation.
Virus particle structure
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). The DNA genome is held in an icosahedral head, also known as a capsid. The T4’s tail is hollow so that it can pass its nucleic acid into the cell it is infecting after attachment. The tail attaches to a host cell with the help of tail fibres. The tail fibres are also important in recognizing host cell surface receptors, so they determine if a bacterium is within the phage's host range.
