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Scientists at Texas A&M University say they are investigating how some viruses, known for attacking humans and animals, instead attack bacteria.
The researchers said information about such viral attackers, called phages or bacteriophages, might aid in the treatment of bacterial infections.
"The phages first attach to the bacteria and then inject their DNA," said doctoral student Sun Qingan, co-author of the study. "Then they reproduce inside the cell cytoplasm."
After more than 100 phage particles have been assembled, the next step is to be released from the bacterial host, so that the progeny virions can find other hosts and repeat the reproduction cycle, Sun said.
The researchers said besides the cell membrane, the phages have another obstacle on their way out -- a hard shell called a cell wall that protects the bacteria. Only by destroying the cell wall can the phages release their offspring. They accomplish that by emitting an enzyme that destroys the wall from inside.
The study is detailed in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.
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