Final answer:
A bacteriophage specifically infects bacteria, due to its adaptation to the unique environment and receptors found on bacterial cells. It possesses a limited host range and cannot infect fungi, plants, or animals.
Step-by-step explanation:
A bacteriophage can infect bacteria. These viruses, commonly referred to as phages, have a specific affinity for bacterial hosts. The term bacteriophage literally translates from Greek as 'bacteria eater,' highlighting their role in infecting and often destroying their bacterial targets. Bacteriophages are incredibly specific and cannot infect fungi, plants, or animals as they lack the necessary mechanisms to attach to and enter non-bacterial cells.
Viral transmission is highly specialized, and most viruses have a limited host range, meaning they are adapted to infect only certain species or cell types within those species. Bacteriophages are an excellent example of this specificity, as they only target prokaryotic cells like bacteria. Unlike eukaryotic cells found in animals, plants, and fungi, bacterial cells provide the unique environment and receptors that phages need to initiate infection.
Understanding the host range and the targeting mechanism of bacteriophages is crucial in fields like microbiology and biotechnology, where phages are studied for their potential to treat bacterial infections, especially those resistant to antibiotics.