betaphage

Betaphage is a hypothetical bacteriophage commonly used in educational and theoretical discussions to illustrate principles of bacteriophage biology and phage therapy. It is not an officially recognized species, and no single genome sequence is associated with betaphage in current taxonomic databases.

In many discussions, betaphage is described as a tailed bacteriophage belonging to the broad group Caudovirales. It is assumed to have an icosahedral capsid and a tail, with genome described as double-stranded DNA in sizes comparable to other tailed phages. The life cycle is often treated as lytic, though some variants may be used to illustrate lysogeny in educational contexts.

Betaphage serves as a model organism in simulations and classroom demonstrations to explain adsorption to bacterial receptors, eclipse and maturation, burst size, and the impact of environmental factors on replication. It provides a framework for discussing how phages interact with host bacteria and how these interactions influence population dynamics in a controlled setting.

In applied contexts, betaphage is used to discuss phage therapy concepts, such as selecting phages with suitable host range, understanding resistance development in bacteria, and exploring methods for engineering phages for improved efficacy. The term is commonly employed to clarify general principles without tying them to a specific, experimentally verified strain.

The term betaphage is primarily a didactic construct and not a defined taxonomic entity in current databases. When reporting research, scientists reference actual, isolated phages with verified genomes and host ranges rather than relying on the betaphage archetype.