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Micro World

How small is a bacteriophage Phi X174?

A bacteriophage Phi X174 is about 27 nm across.

What is measured: icosahedral virus particle, diameter

Bacteriophage Phi X174 (27 nm) drawn to scale beside a ribosome (25 nm) and a flu virus (100 nm)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Ribosome (25 nm), Bacteriophage Phi X174 (27 nm) and Flu virus (100 nm).

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How big is that, really?

  • About the same width as a ribosome
  • About 3 would fit across a flu virus
  • As wide as about 14 DNA double helices side by side

Learn

Facts about Bacteriophage Phi X174

Phi X174 was the first DNA-based genome ever sequenced, completed by Frederick Sanger's team in 1977.

Source: ICTV Virus Taxonomy; Sanger et al. 1977, Nature

Micro World

NameSizeCompared with Bacteriophage Phi X174
Ferritin Molecule12 nm0.44×
Colloidal Gold Nanoparticle20 nm0.74×
Bacteriophage Phi X17427 nmthis page
Qβ Bacteriophage28 nm1×
Silver Nanoparticle40 nm1.5×
Fibrinogen Molecule45 nm1.7×
Silicon Nanowire50 nm1.9×
West Nile Virus50 nm1.9×
Human Papillomavirus55 nm2×
Cyanophage P-SSP760 nm2.2×

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Bacteriophage Phi X174 or Colloidal Gold Nanoparticle?

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