Bacterial viruses (bacteriophages or phages) are the most abundant viruses in the Biosphere. Their vast majority are tailed phages whose viral particle is composed of an icosahedral DNA-filled capsid and of a tail that is the genome delivery device to the host bacterium.
Bacteriophages of Gram-Positive Bacteria
Our team Bacteriophages of Gram-Positive Bacteria studies assembly of viral particles of tailed bacteriophages and infection of Gram-positive bacteria by their viruses. The main research model system is the siphovirus SPP1that infects the bacterium Bacillus subtilis. The approach is interdisciplinary combining genetics, biochemistry, structural and cell biology.