Podoviruses

Podoviridae was a family of bacteriophage in the order Caudovirales often associated with T-7 like phages. The family and order Caudovirales have now been abolished, with the term podovirus now used to refer to the morphology of viruses in this former family. There were 130 species in this family, assigned to 3 subfamilies and 52 genera. This family was characterized by having very short, noncontractile tails. Many former phages in the former family Podoviriade are now classified in the Autographiviridae

== Structure == thumb|right|Electron micrograph of podovirus ΦCP7R of Clostridium perfringens. thumb|right|Genomes of some podoviruses of Clostridium perfringens Viruses in the former family Podoviridae are non-enveloped, with icosahedral and head-tail geometries. The diameter is around 60 nm, and consists of 72 capsomers. The head protein has a molecular mass of ~38 kilodaltons and is present in 460 copies per virion. There are 9 structural proteins. The tail is non-contractile and has 6 short subterminal fibers. It is thick and rod-shaped and built of stacked disks. The maximum length is ~17 nm.