What Is the Difference Between a Virus and Bacteria?

Bacterial virus is a virus that hosts bacteria. It is also called phage (Phage), which was discovered by F.W.Twater in 1915 and F.H.Derell in 1917.

Bacterial virus

Under the microscope, most bacterial viruses are found to be different from animal and plant viruses in that they have a complex morphology of head and tail structures. According to the tail, it can be divided into three types: long, short and retractable tail sheath. In addition,

Bacterial viruses are mainly composed of nucleic acids and proteins. A few bacterial viruses contain small amounts of non-nucleic acid sugars or lipids. The protein mainly forms the head shell, tail and accessories of the bacterial virus shell or complex. The protein portion is antigenic. Therefore, injecting it into animals can produce specific antibodies, and the neutralizing antibodies can prevent the bacterial virus from adsorbing on the outer wall of the bacteria, thereby preventing the infection from occurring, but without inactivating the bacterial virus. Different bacterial viruses can be distinguished based on antigen specificity.

Nucleic acids make up the genome of a bacterial virus. Bacterial viruses contain only one type of nucleic acid, either DNA or RNA, or double-stranded or single-stranded, or linear or circular. Most bacterial viruses contain dsDNA. Bacterial viruses have the same DNA as other organisms.

Bacterial viruses can exist in three states with different structures and functions: mature infectious or free phages outside the bacterial cell; vegetative or growing phages inside the bacterial cell; prophages formed by integration on the bacterial cell chromosome . Free bacterial virus encounters sensitive host bacteria, and infection occurs under appropriate conditions. The bacterial virus first adsorbs to the bacteria. The tailed bacteria virus attaches its tail wire to a certain receiving point on the surface of the bacteria. Due to the tail wire bending, The tail needle and the tail plate are fixed to the bacteria. Subsequently, the bacterial virus tail sheath contracts, and the exposed tail shaft penetrates into the outer wall of the bacteria. The DNA is injected into the bacteria through the tail shaft, leaving the protein shell outside the bacteria. Male-specific bacterial virus

When the prophage in a lysogenic bacteria leaves the host chromosome and proliferates for some known (eg, induced) or unknown (spontaneous) reason, a small number of bacterial virus genomes carry the genes of neighboring hosts down (while the phage DNA One fragment is lost at the other end). When it infects another strain, the host gene can be introduced and recombined to show the traits of this gene.

Bacteria virus research tools

Because of its characteristics, bacterial viruses have become the object of research in various aspects such as the replication, transcription, recombination of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), the regulation and control of gene expression, and the relationship between viruses and hosts, promoting virology and molecular biology. The development of genetics. As a carrier of genes, it has also become a useful tool in the research of genetic engineering. Bacterial viruses rely on specific lytic action to classify pathogenic bacteria into different types with extreme fineness, which is extremely useful for tracking the source of infection in bacterial diseases epidemiology. In clinical medicine, bacterial viruses have been tried to treat certain bacterial infections. Anti-tumor drugs can be screened and carcinogens checked for the induction of lysobacteria. Bacterial virus pollution may cause great losses to the fermentation industry (such as food industry, antibiotic industry, etc.), so preventing and controlling such pollution is also an important task.

Bacteria virus treats disease

Some bacterial viruses, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa phage, can treat related diseases. Burn patients are susceptible to infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which causes pyogenic infections and is not easy to control. Scientists using Pseudomonas aeruginosa phage can effectively treat the purulent sensation of burn patients. Because P. aeruginosa phage is a bacterial virus, it lives and reproduces in P. aeruginosa, making P. aeruginosa unable to live.

Bacterial virus (4 photos)