This new text highlights the value of this biological system as a research and teaching tool. The book is a sequel to the 1983 edition and is organized into 6 major sections: DNA metabolism, regulation of gene expression, morphogenesis, structure of selected proteins, host–phage interactions, and laboratory experiments in T4 molecular genetics. Since T4 has played a central role in the development of molecular biology as an academic discipline, the themes presented in this book provide a framework for designing graduate and undergraduate courses in prokaryotic genetics and biochemistry.

In response to the emergence of pathogenic bacteria that cannot be treated with current antibiotics, many researchers are revisiting the use of bacteriophages, or phages, to fight multidrug-resistant bacteria. Bacteriophages: Biology and Applications provides unparalleled, comprehensive information on bacteriophages and their applications, such as

This volume, the first of a two-part series, covers topics including historical, ecological and evolutionary considerations, genomics and molecular biology, and interaction of phages with their hosts. Contributions from leading authorities Informs and updates on all the latest developments in the field

This authoritative, timely, and comprehensively referenced compendium on the bacteriophages explores current views of how viruses infect bacteria. In combination with classical phage molecular genetics, new structural, genomic, and single-molecule technologies have rendered an explosion in our knowledge of phages. Bacteriophages, the most abundant and genetically diverse type of organism in the biosphere, were discovered at the beginning of the 20th century and enjoyed decades of used as anti-bacterial agents before being eclipsed by the antibiotic era. Since 1988, phages have come back into the spotlight as major factors in pathogenesis, bacterial evolution, and ecology. This book reveals their compelling elegence of function and their almost inconceivable diversity.Much of the founding work in molecular biology and structural biology was done on bacteriophages. These are widely used in molecular biology research and in biotechnology, as probes and markers, and in the popular method of assesing gene expression.

Phage T4 is a large DNA virus that infects and multiplies in the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli) and certain other bacteria that normally inhabit the mammalian gut. Relatives of T4 are widely distributed in nature and propagate in a variety of bacterial species in marine and terrestrial environments. The genomes of these phages encode an enormous biochemical complexity that rival the complexity exhibited by the much larger genomes of their bacterial hosts. Collectively, T4 and its relatives have proven to be powerful systems for research into the genetic and biochemical mechanisms that control the replication, expression and evolution of DNA genomes as well as viral assembly. This book contains a collection of review articles covering research in these areas over the last 20 years. The articles appeared online as a thematic series in 2010 in BioMed Central's Virology Journal. They are reprinted here in hardcopy as a convenient source of the most current reviewed information on this family of phages for instructors and trainees in the microbial and molecular biological sciences.

This first major reference work dedicated to the mannifold industrial and medical applications of bacteriophages provides both theoretical and practical insights into the emerging field of bacteriophage biotechnology. The book introduces to bacteriophage biology, ecology and history and reviews the latest technologies and tools in bacteriophage detection, strain optimization and nanotechnology. Usage of bacteriophages in food safety, agriculture, and different therapeutic areas is discussed in detail. This book serves as essential guide for researchers in applied microbiology, biotechnology and medicine coming from both academia and industry.