This virus is one of the largest phages at approximately 90nm wide and 200nm long. It consists of protein coat, a genome, tail fibers and a base plate. Its tail fibers 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.
:http://www.bacteriophagetherapy.info/ECF40946-8E2F-4890-9CA6-D390A26E39C1/Images/Phage-Solo1.jpg)
How the virus attaches to its host:
The example that I am going to use is how this virus attaches to an E. coli. The T4 Phage initiates infection of an E. coli bacterium by recognizing cell surface receptors of
(Picture URL:http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/43/4943-004-5350FC7A.gif)
The process of replication:
T4 bacteriophage reproduce with the lyctic cycle. The bacteriophage connects to the surface of the host, punctures the cell with its injection tube, and then injects it own genetic materials. The genetic infor
http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/phages/image/phage6sm.jpg
3 sources:
http://biology.kenyon.edu/BMB/Chime2/2002/T4injector/FRAMES/captxt.htm
This site contained many useful facts about the replication and the structure of the bacteriophage virus I am studying.
http://www.hybridmedicalanimation.com/anim_bacteriophage.html
This site had not much information but it did have a good video on how the virus attacks its host cell which was quite useful.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12626685
This site had some interesting information about the virus and some of its characteristics but it did not give a vivid understanding of its structure and replication.