Multiple choice

What must happen to bacteriophage prior to infecting a bacterium?

  1. It should reproduce to make multiple copies of the phage chromosome.

  2. It should integrate its genome into the bacterial chromosome.

  3. It should penetrate the bacterial cell wall completely.

  4. It should attach to a receptor on the bacterial cell membrane.

  5. It should undergo shrinkage in its size.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The first step in the infection of a host is attachment of the phage tail to a specific receptor on the host cell membrane. The capsid on the bacteriophage does not enter the host cell.

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