Phage

A bacteriophage, or simply phage (from the Greek "phagein", meaning "to devour"), is a virus that infects bacteria. Phages are composed of genetic material (DNA or RNA) and a protein coat that protects the genetic material inside the bacterial cell.

Phages can be very diverse in their structure and properties. Some phages have a simple shape, resembling a hexagonal prism, while others can have more complex shapes, such as those resembling a spaceship or the Ebola virus.

Phages are an important tool in biology and medicine. They are used to study bacteria and their defense mechanisms against infections, as well as to treat bacterial infections. Phage therapy is a method of treating bacterial infections based on the use of bacteriophages. In Russia and other countries such as Georgia and Poland, phage therapy has been used for more than 100 years.

However, despite all the advantages of phages, their use also has its limitations and problems. Some bacteria can develop resistance to phages, making them less effective at treating infections. In addition, not all bacterial infections can be treated with phages.

Overall, phages are unique and beneficial organisms that can help fight bacterial infections. However, as with any other drugs, their effectiveness and safety must be carefully studied and assessed in each specific case.

The name "Phage" comes from the Greek word "phagos", meaning "devourer". It is used to refer to parasitic viruses that infect the cells of living organisms. Phages are among the most common viruses in nature because they are an important element of natural selection, exerting selective pressure on bacterial cells.

Bacterial phage Bacteriophages, or phages (from ancient Greek φαγεῖν - “eat, devour, eat, be eaten” + ἔγωγε - “I am”) are viruses specific to a strictly defined type of bacteria. Along with parasitic ones, there may be saprophytic and moderate variants; as a rule, they are non-viable or short-lived (even relative to genes encoding proteins, since their relative length is small). Outside the host organism they quickly lose infectivity. The largest of them are viruses, about 200 nm long. These are mainly DNA viruses. They have very high genetic variability due to multiple recombination. Discovered by Russian microbiologist Dmitry Iosifovich Ivanovsky in 1898. Also among them are rickettsiophages - phages that parasitize rickettsia. Viruses within the family have many differences from each other. The name of phages, like any other type of virus, is based on the name of the bacteria they infect. However, phages have perhaps the greatest diversity of bacterial hosts of any virus. One of the few simplest multicellular organisms