Virology and Microbiology

Viral plaques

Plaques are clear zones formed in a lawn of cells due to lysis by phage. Lysogens begin to grow in the middle of the plaque, giving the plaque a turbid. The morphology of the plaque depends upon the phage, the host, and the growth conditions. Virus quantification is counting the number of viruses in a particular volume to determine the virus concentration. The plaque assay can be used to refine a clonal population of virus. The revolution that took place in the field of molecular biology allowed the genetic information encoded in nucleic acids of viruses which enables viruses to reproduce.