Want to see how a virus does to infect a living being? [video]

According to Science, Space & Robots, the above animation shows what a group of University of Texas researchers observed while catching a virus in full action, infecting a living being. According to the publication, the microorganism in question is a T7 bacteriophage, and the cell infected with it, a bacterium of the species E. coli .

The colorful structure that looks like a space probe represents T7, and scientists have followed the mechanism of action of the virus during the infection process. They noted that the microorganism has six fibers - the yellow-looking legs - on its tail (the red part), which are bent next to the capsid (the blue acorn), that is, next to the protective envelope that surrounds it. the viruses.

The fibers are used so that the virus can travel the surface of the organism that will be infected - in the video, the bacterium E. coli, represented in green - in search of some fragile point that will serve as a gateway. This is the first time a virus has been caught using its tail to infect a living being, and researchers believe it is this action that allows T7 to introduce its genetic material into bacteria.