Adsorption
of
Virion
to
Host
Cell -
a.Landing:Infection begins with co1lision between the phage and the E. coli cell brought about by random thermal movements of bacterial cells and phage particles. Contact is made with the phage tail.
The tail fibres recognize specific receptor sites on the host cell wall during attachment. Phage T3, T4 and T7 receptors are located in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) component; while T2 and T6 bind to the lipoprotein components.
The T5 receptors contain both lipoprotein and LPS. The tail fibres are normally folded around the tail, with their midpoints held by the whiskers on the collar.
