Viruses such as T4 or λ that possess a single, large, and relatively complex adsorption appendage that is attached to their double-stranded DNA-containing icosahedral heads.
Tailed phages induce lytic productive infections and they are members of the phage order Caudovirales. The tailed phage families are, in alphabetical order, members of families Myoviridae, Podoviridae, and Siphoviridae, a.k.a. though less formally, myoviruses (or myophages), podovirses (or podophages), and siphoviruses (or siphophages), respectively.
Nearly all phages employed in phage therapy are tailed phages. All of the original T phages (phages T1 through T7) are tailed phages. Contrast tailless phages.
For more on this topic, see Wikipedia, Google, and PubMed. Contact web master. Return to terms.