Enterobacteria phage T4 is a phage that infects E. coli bacteria.

Its DNA is 169-170 kb long, one of the longest DNAs in phages. The lifecycle (from entering a bacteria to its destruction) takes about 30 minutes (at 37 °C) and contains of:

• adsorption and penetration (starting immediately)
• arrest of host gene expression (starting immediately)
• enzyme synthesis (starting after 5 minutes)
• DNA replication (starting after 10 minutes)
• virus formation (starting after 12 minutes)

After the lifecycle is complete the cell bursts open and ejects the newly built viruses into the environment. The host cell is destroyed.

The T4 phage has some unique features, such as

• eukaryote style Introns
• high speed DNA copying engine with only 1 error in 300 copies
• special DNA repair mechanisms