Viral plaque - Definition and Overview

A viral plaque is a visible structure formed within a cell culture, such as bacterial cultures within some nutrient medium (e.g. agar). The viruses replicate and spread, thus generating regions of cell destructions known as plaques.

These plaques can be detected visually; however, they are not always visible to the naked eye. Sometimes they can only be seen through a microscope, or using techniques such as staining or immunofluorescence.

External links

• An image of viral plaques in blood agar (http://lymphocytes.741.com/plaque.html)