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Review
. 2001 Mar;45(3):649-59.
doi: 10.1128/AAC.45.3.649-659.2001.

Bacteriophage therapy

A Sulakvelidze  1 , Z Alavidze, J G Morris Jr
Affiliations
Review

Bacteriophage therapy

A Sulakvelidze et al. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2001 Mar.
No abstract available

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Figures

FIG. 1
FIG. 1
The incidence of clinical dysentery, culture-confirmed dysentery, and diarrheal disease of undetermined etiology in phage-treated and phage-untreated (placebo) children 6 months to 7 years of age (the data are from reference 7).
FIG. 2
FIG. 2
Replication cycles of lytic and lysogenic phages. (A) Lytic phages: step 1, attachment; step 2, injection of phage DNA into the bacterial host; step 3, shutoff of synthesis of host components, replication of phage DNA, and production of new capsids; step 4, assembly of phages; step 5, release of mature phages (lysis). (B) Lysogenic phages: steps 1 and 2 are similar to those of lytic phages (i.e., attachment and injection, respectively); starting with step 3, lysogenic phages can, among other possibilities, initiate a reproductive cycle similar to that of lytic phages (a) or integrate their DNA into the host bacterium's chromosome (lysogenization) (b). Lysogenized cells can replicate normally for many generations (1b) or at some point undergo lysogenic induction (2b) spontaneously or because of inducing agents such as radiation or carcinogens, during which time the integrated phage DNA is excised from the bacterial chromosome and may pick up fragments of bacterial DNA.
FIG. 3
FIG. 3
The genomic map of T4 phage. The full sequence of T4 phage has been determined, and several genes responsible for its lytic properties have been identified. For example, the genes encoding tail fibers (e.g., gp37) and baseplate wedges (e.g., gp12) are critical for phage-host cell recognition; the gp5 gene and possibly the gp25 gene encode lysozyme which weakens the bacterial cell wall and facilitates phage DNA injection into the cell; the ndd gene encodes the Ndd protein which disrupts the host nucleoid; the alc gene product is essential for inhibiting host cell transcription, etc. (from reference , with permission from the American Society for Microbiology).
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References

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