Phage Biology and Phage Therapy Terminology Defined and Discussed
by Stephen T. Abedon Ph.D. Steve Abedon, Ph.D., has taught well over 100 individual classes and ~10 individual courses (including introductory biology, microbiology, physiology, biochemistry, etc.) over his 30+ years as a college professor. He has over 150 publications, including multiple monographs, and is ranked in the top 1 or 2 percent among researchers of all disciplines worldwide. His research focuses on bacteriophage biology and phage therapy. (abedon.1@osu.edu)
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Jump to: 📘 About | 📖 Glossary | 🦠 Immunity | 🔢 Multiplicity | 🧫 Plaques | 📋 Project | 💡 Suggest a Term | 🔤 Index | 🧮 Calculators
phage.org/terms/ · Abedon’s Books · DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20173633
How can I improve this page? contact: terms@phage.org · Suggest a term
The Glossary of Bacteriophage Terms is an ongoing project of phage.org, the Bacteriophage Ecology Group. Its goal is to provide definitions and discussions of terminology used in phage biology and phage therapy, with links to related terms and, especially, older literature that can be used to help define these terms.
The glossary has been developed in stages. The original term pages were created between 2011 and 2012 and hosted at archaealviruses.org/terms/. Those pages are now being converted to the current format at phage.org/terms/, with expanded discussions and systematic linking throughout.
A companion manuscript has been published as a preprint:
Terms with fully developed pages are listed in the π Glossary tab. The π Project tab preserves the original master term list β including the several hundred terms not yet developed β so that the full scope of the project remains visible. Thematic sub-lists covering immunity, multiplicity, and plaque terminology appear in their own tabs.
Abedon, S.T. (2026). Phage Terms. https://terms.phage.org · 10.5281/zenodo.20173633
Terms with fully developed pages. See the π Project tab for the complete master list including undeveloped terms.
For more phage terms, see Abedon, S.T. (2025). Phage Therapy Annotated Glossary. Preprints.org. 10.20944/preprints202508.0347.v1
Abedon, S.T. (2026). Phage Terms. https://terms.phage.org · 10.5281/zenodo.20173633
Terms associated with the concept of temperate phage immunity. Linked terms have developed pages; unlinked terms (italic grey) are not yet developed.
Terms associated with the concept of phage multiplicity. Linked terms have developed pages; unlinked terms (italic grey) are not yet developed.
Terms associated with the concept of plaques and their formation. Linked terms have developed pages; unlinked terms (italic grey) are not yet developed.
The complete scope of the Glossary of Bacteriophage Terms project. Linked terms have developed pages; unlinked terms (grey) are planned but not yet developed. To propose a term, or to supply a definition, discussion or references for one listed here, use the 💡 Suggest a Term tab.
Terms as added to the original glossary at archaealviruses.org/terms/, 2011–2012. Date format YYMMDD.
Is there a phage term that should have a page here, or a page that should say more? Please tell us. The more of this form you fill in, the faster a page can be written: a definition, what the page should discuss, how the term is used in the literature, and above all references, with links (DOI, PubMed or another web address). Every field but the term is optional.