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Bacteriophage T4 infection
This illustration, titled "Bacteriophage T4 Infection," shows three stages in the life cycle of bacteriophage T4, a bacteria-infecting virus. Left: A bacteriophage T4 (red) injects its DNA genome (white) into an Escherichia coli cell. Center: The bacteriophage T4 has taken over the cell, destroying the cellular DNA (purple) and forcing the cell to make new copies of itself. Right: The bacteriophage T4 produces a channel-forming protein (magenta) that pierces the inner cell membrane, allowing enzymes to break down fibrous molecules between the two cellular membranes. The cell bursts, releasing several hundred new bacteriophages.
The illustration was created by David S. Goodsell, a research professor at Rutgers University and scientific outreach lead for PDB-101, the education and outreach arm of the U.S. National Science Foundation-supported (grant DBI 2321666) Protein Data Bank, an online portal for exploring the world of proteins and nucleic acids.
More in-depth detail about what's pictured in the illustration can be found here or visit the PDB-101 Molecular Landscapes gallery. (Date of image: 2023; date originally posted to NSF Multimedia Gallery: Aug. 16, 2024)
Credit: Illustration by David S. Goodsell/RCSB Protein Data Bank/Scripps Research/doi: 10.2210/rcsb_pdb/goodsell-gallery-048 (available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International)
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