Bacteriophage virulent

Guenther, S., Huwyler, D., Richard, S., and Loessner, M. J. (2008). Virulent bacteriophage for efficient biocontrol of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75, 93-100. 

Parasitism can serve to regulate competition between different host populations. An example is provided by the work of Levin et al. (76). They found that parasitism by the virulent bacteriophage T2 on two strains of Escherichia coli stabilized the competition of the strains for sugar, and allowed the competitors to coexist in a chemostat. One of the strains was susceptible to infection by T2 but the other was not. 

Foschino, R., Venturelli, E., Picozzi, C. (2005). Isolation and characterization of a virulent Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis bacteriophage and its impact on microbial population in sourdough. Current Microbiology, 51,413-418. 

Temperate phage A bacteriophage that does not cause a virulent infection rather, its DNA is incorporated into the host cell chromosome, as a prophage, and replicated with the chromosome. 

Virulent phage A bacteriophage that enters the lytic cycle when it infects a bacterial cell, causing eventual lysis and death of the host cell. 

AUSTIN B, PRIDE A c and RHODiE G A (2003) Association of a bacteriophage with virulence in Vibrio harveyi, J Fish Dis, 26, 55-58. 

Lysogeny allows temperate viruses to survive and replicate within a limited population of cells that are protected from further infection. On the other hand, the survival of virulent bacteriophages depends on the continuous availability of susceptible bacteria, e.g. in sewage. 

The polysialic acid capsule of E. coli K1 is not only an essential virulence factor it also provides an attachment site for specialized K1 bacteriophages. Almost 30 lytic enterobacterial phages specific for E. coli K1 have been isolated, mainly from sewage samples. Interestingly, they have been found to exhibit different morphologies, thus belonging to the three different families of the Caudovirales (Table 1). 

Volumes 7 and 8 deal with the DNA bacteriophages. Volume 7 concluded the series of volumes on the reproduction of viruses (Volumes 2-4 and Volume 7) and deals particularly with the single- and double-stranded virulent bacteriophages. 

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