Action of Chemical and Physical Agents on Various Phages

Abstract

The intimate mechanism of interaction between phage and bacterium cannot be understood without knowledge of the physiological role of the structural phage proteins. Although the role of the nucleic acid as infective principle has been precisely established [201], the role of the individual protein structures of the phage is still not clear. The relatively complex structure of the tail and the presence of at least four different proteins in the phage particle suggest that the role of its protein components is not limited purely to the function of protecting the nucleic acid against external agents. The study of the function and ultrastructure of the protein elements of phage is interesting, both from the point of view of a further understanding of the mechanism of phage infection and also from the point of view of elucidation of the general principles governing formation of these proteins in the cell.