biology

PhagesDB

PhagesDB is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand PhagesDB rather than just read about it. In short: The Actinobacteriophage database, more commonly known as PhagesDB, is a bioinformatics website that collects and shares information related to the discovery, characterization, and genomics of viruses that typically infect Actinobacteria. At the start of 2026, the database contained information on more than 30,000 bacteriophages (phages), as well as over 5,000 fully sequenced phages.

Key takeaways

PhagesDB belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect PhagesDB to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of PhagesDB from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Actinobacteriophage database, more commonly known as PhagesDB, is a bioinformatics website that collects and shares information related to the discovery, characterization, and genomics of viruses that typically infect Actinobacteria. At the start of 2026, the database contained information on more than 30,000 bacteriophages (phages), as well as over 5,000 fully sequenced phages.

Design and features PhagesDB has individual entries for each different virus in the database, along with a separate GeneMark page, as well as amino-acid information about phage genomes. The table below indicates the different types (by bacterial host genus) and numbers of phages sequenced:

Access and rights to data Information published in this database can be freely viewed by anyone, and an Application Programming Interface (API) is available. PhagesDB keeps some unpublished data, including newly performed genomic sequences.

See also Bioinformatics Genomics Mycobacteria Bacteriophage DNA sequencing BLAST

References

External links Homepage

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with PhagesDB

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what PhagesDB claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to PhagesDB before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about PhagesDB ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of PhagesDB

In research: PhagesDB appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses PhagesDB in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: PhagesDB is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bioinformatics software, Biological databases, Virology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for PhagesDB outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study PhagesDB in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what PhagesDB means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain PhagesDB out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is PhagesDB in simple terms?

Why does PhagesDB matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study PhagesDB?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on PhagesDB.