Hassus

Hassus is a bacteriophage that infects the bacterium Escherichia coli. It was first described in 1922 by American bacteriologist Félix d'Hérelle, the French-Canadian scientist who also discovered the first phage, known as the "Tobacco Mosaic Virus Bacteriphage" or simply "AT bacteriophage".

Hassus is classified as a member of the family Myoviridae and has a complex capsid structure composed of 12 pentamers and one hexamer, which is arranged in a higher-order organisation. Its genome is composed of a linear double-stranded DNA molecule with approximately 39,000 base pairs. Hassus can undergo either lytic or lysogenic life cycles.

The lytic cycle of Hassus results in the production of new viral particles that ultimately lead to the host cell's destruction. In the lysogenic cycle, Hassus integrates its genome into the host's DNA and becomes a prophage, essentially becoming an integral part of the bacterial genome. When the host is exposed to certain environmental stimuli, the prophage can be induced and begin to produce viral particles once more.

Research has been conducted on the genetic structure of Hassus to better understand viral genomes. The intricate arrangement of its capsid, as well as the execution of its life cycles, have led to comparisons with other related phages, like Mu and Lambda. Due to its stabilisation of the Escherichia coli genome through lysogeny and subsequent study in its use as a selectively abbreviated reconstruction of the E.coli K-12 fa genome, Hassus has become a significant entity in genetic engineering research into programmes like restructuring DNA, spectral discovery abilities used by major scientific pharmaceutical sp_change_social_case_and_contrealis_last_options.