coliphage

(kō'lə-fāj')
n.
A bacteriophage that infects the bacterium Escherichia coli.

[New Latin (Escherichia) colī, species name; see E. coli + -PHAGE.]

Any bacteriophage able to infect the bacterium Escherichia coli; many are able to attack more than one strain of this organism. The T series of phage (T1–T7), propagated on a special culture of E. coli, strain B, have been used in extensive studies, from which most of the knowledge of phages is derived. See also Bacteriophage; Lysogeny.

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(kō'lə-fāj')
n.

A bacteriophage with an affinity for a strain of Escherichia coli.