Enterobacteria phage P4


Enterobacteria phage P4 is a temperate bacteriophage strain of species Escherichia virus P2 within genus Peduovirus, subfamily Peduovirinae, family Myoviridae. It is a satellite virus, requiring P2-related helper phage to grow lytically.

Structure

The P4 virion has a tail and an icosahedral head containing a linear double-stranded DNA genome of 11,627 kb.

Life cycle

Phage P4 infects Escherichia coli. It is a satellite virus which cannot engage in lytic growth without the presence of a P2-related helper phage. It generally follows a lysogenic life cycle: after infection, the P4 genome integrates into that of its host. The P4 genome can also exist on its own within the host cell and can replicate as a free plasmid.