Medical Dictionary
phage lambda
noun
Medical Definition of PHAGE LAMBDA
: a bacteriophage (species Enterobacteria phage λ of the family Siphoviridae) of double-stranded DNA that consists of an icosahedral head about 60 nanometers in diameter with 72 capsomers and a flexible tail about 150 nanometers long and eight nanometers wide, that can be integrated as a prophage into the genome of some strains of E. coli, and that is used as a vector to clone DNA from various organisms by replacing nonessential DNA in the bacteriophage with the foreign DNA and introducing the combined DNA into E. coli where it is replicated with the bacterium—called also bacteriophage lambda, lambda, lambda phage
Seen & Heard
What made you want to look up phage lambda? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).