Enterobacteria phage phiX174 (phiX174)

Enterobacteria phage phiX174 is a small, single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) virus that specifically infects the bacterium Escherichia coli [8, 14]. It belongs to the Microviridae family and is historically significant as the first DNA-based genome to be fully sequenced, a milestone achieved by Frederick Sanger in 1977 [8, 17]. The virus replicates by hijacking the host's cellular machinery and eventually induces cell lysis through its "Protein E," which inhibits the bacterial enzyme MraY, a critical component of peptidoglycan synthesis [2, 18]. While not a therapeutic target for human disease, phiX174 is a foundational model organism in molecular biology and synthetic biology [5, 8]. It is widely used as a positive control in DNA sequencing (e.g., Illumina platforms), a tool for phage display technology, and is being researched for potential applications in phage therapy and the development of novel antibacterial agents [1, 8, 13].

Other names

ΦX174Phi X 174Microvirus phiX174Coliphage phiX174Escherichia phage phiX174

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