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

These plaques can sometimes be detected visually using colony counters, in much the same way as bacterial colonies are counted; however, they are not always visible to the naked eye, and sometimes can only be seen through a microscope, or using techniques such as staining or immunofluorescence. Special computer systems have been designed with the ability to scan samples in batches.

See also

• Assay
• Virus
• Virology