Читать книгу Cell Biology - Stephen R. Bolsover - Страница 73

Viruses (page 4) rely on the host cell to make more virus. Once viruses have entered cells, the cells' machinery is used to copy the viral genome. Depending on the virus type, the genome may be single‐ or double‐stranded DNA, or even RNA. A viral genome is packaged within a protective protein coat. Viruses that infect bacteria are called bacteriophages. One of these, lambda, has a fixed‐size DNA molecule of 4.8 × 10⁴ base pairs. In contrast, the bacteriophage M13 can change its chromosome size, its protein coat expanding in parallel to accommodate the chromosome.