Bacteriophage
13.07.2024
Bacteriophage
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For Prelims: About Bacteriophage, How does it infect bacteria? |
Why in the news?
Researchers recently developed a simple new way to store, identify and share phages, making them more accessible to patients who need them.
About Bacteriophage:
- It is a type of virus that infects bacteria.
- The word "bacteriophage" literally means "bacteria eater," because bacteriophages destroy their host cells.
- They are the most common biological entities in nature.
- Also known as phages, these viruses can be found everywhere bacteria exist, including, in the soil, deep within the earth’s crust, inside plants and animals, and even in the oceans.
- Thousands of varieties of phages exist, each of which may infect only one type or a few types of bacteria or archaea.
- All bacteriophages are composed of a nucleic acid molecule that is surrounded by a protein structure.
○The nucleic acid may be either DNA or RNA, and it may be double-stranded or single-stranded.
How does it infect bacteria?
- A bacteriophage attaches itself to a susceptible bacterium and infects the host cell.
- Following infection, the bacteriophage hijacks the bacterium's cellular machinery to prevent it from producing bacterial components and instead forces the cell to produce viral components.
- Eventually, new bacteriophages assemble and burst out of the bacterium in a process called lysis.
- It occasionally removes a portion of their host cells' bacterial DNA during the infection process and then transfers this DNA into the genome of new host cells. This process is known as transduction.
Uses:
- They are common natural entities that can destroy bacteria that are resistant to drugs such as antibiotics.
- Phage therapy holds promising potential in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Source: Down to earth
Ques :- Consider the following statements regarding Bacteriophage:
Statement-I
It is a type of virus that infects bacteria.
Statement-II
Thousands of varieties of bacteriophages exist, each of which may infect only one type of bacteria.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
A.Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I.
B.Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I.
C.Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect.
D.Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct.
Answer A