10.11 Summary
    1. 1 phage target cells (sometimeswith their unwitting help)
    2. 2 their tail fibers recognizeand dock to their target cell
    3. 3 their tails (contractile or not)inject the phage’s genome
    4. 4 the genome directs the cell’s machinery tomake many copies of components
    5. 5 once the components assemble,the new phage make their exit
    6. 6 ...sometimes in dramatic style

    Summary

    Concept Check Questions

    • Why are phage not considered a life form?

    • Which macromolecule makes up the phage capsid?

    • What structure do phage use to recognize their targets?

    • Which bacterial structure is related to the phage tail?

    Further Reading

    • Keen (2015). A century of phage research: Bacteriophages and the shaping of modern biology [93].

    • Prangishvili et al. (2017). The enigmatic archaeal virosphere [94].

    • Rohwer et al. (2014). Life in Our Phage World [91].