Welcome to an Amoeba Sisters Short, this one about 

the amazing bacteriophage. A bacteriophage – or  

just called phage - is a virus, but one that 

specifically targets bacteria. It’s also Petunia’s  

favorite virus to draw –a capsid that surrounds 

genetic material, a tail sheath, and then tail  

fibers that allow it to attach to bacteria. 

Bacteriophages are pretty much everywhere. And,  

yes, that includes in your body - you do consume 

them along with your food after all. Since  

bacteriophages target bacteria, this can make them 

very useful if needing to target harmful bacteria.  

The USDA approved the addition of certain 

bacteriophages on lunch meats to offer biocontrol:  

these approved bacteriophages can target bacterial 

pathogens that could otherwise make you sick.  

There is also interest and continuous study for 

the potential of using something called phage  

therapy to destroy infectious bacteria that 

might already be resistant to antibiotics.  

Because viruses tend to be very specific, phage 

therapy could offer selective targeting of harmful  

bacteria while leaving beneficial bacteria alone. 

Check out some suggested reads in the description.