Phages take breaks while ejecting DNA
The bacteria that prey on animals and plants have their own parasites: a family of viruses, called phages, that infect the microbes by injecting them with long strings of DNA. A new study suggests that the DNA-injection process is more complicated than researchers had previously presumed, happening in fits and starts instead of in a smooth and steady stream.
Almost all phages have a tail structure, which latches on to bacterial prey, and a head, which stores all the virus’ DNA. The length of this DNA string is about 50 times the diameter of a phage’s head. As such, the molecule is held under immense pressure, about 10 times that inside a bottle of champagne.