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The lysogenic cycle is a crucial viral replication strategy that allows bacteriophages to persist within host cells without immediately destroying them. This process is primarily observed in temperate phages, such as bacteriophage lambda (λ), which infects Escherichia coli. The cycle allows the viral genome to persist across bacterial generations while keeping host cells viable.Integration of the Viral GenomeUpon infection, bacteriophage lambda attaches to the bacterial surface and injects its...
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Updated: May 14, 2026

Precise Phage Mutagenesis with NgTET-Assisted CRISPR-Cas Systems
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Precise Phage Mutagenesis with NgTET-Assisted CRISPR-Cas Systems

Published on: October 14, 2025

Phage-induced diversification improves host evolvability.

Hywel T P Williams1

  • 1College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, UK. h.t.p.williams@exeter.ac.uk

BMC Evolutionary Biology
|January 24, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) can surprisingly enhance bacterial evolution by promoting diversity and adaptation. This suggests phages may boost bacterial productivity in ecosystems, despite harming individual cells.

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T4 Bacteriophage and E. coli Interaction in the Murine Intestine: A Prototypical Model for Studying Host-Bacteriophage Dynamics In Vivo
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T4 Bacteriophage and E. coli Interaction in the Murine Intestine: A Prototypical Model for Studying Host-Bacteriophage Dynamics In Vivo

Published on: January 26, 2024

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology and Evolutionary Biology
  • Ecological Dynamics
  • Bacteriophage-Host Interactions

Background:

  • Bacteriophages are crucial in ecological processes and drive antagonistic coevolution with their bacterial hosts.
  • Phage-host interactions involve frequency-dependent selection and can impose fitness costs on bacteria due to resistance mechanisms.
  • Understanding these dynamics is key to comprehending microbial community structure and function.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To model the impact of coevolving bacteriophages on bacterial host evolution within a resource-limited environment.
  • To investigate how phage predation and frequency-dependent selection influence bacterial diversity and adaptation.
  • To explore the broader implications for bacterial productivity and evolutionary potential.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a simple mathematical model simulating bacteria and bacteriophage coevolution in a chemostat.
  • Analyzed density-dependent mortality and frequency-dependent selection imposed by phages.
  • Examined the role of standing bacterial diversity and trade-offs in adaptation.

Main Results:

  • Phage predation prevents competitive exclusion, enabling coexistence and promoting high bacterial diversity.
  • Frequency-dependent selection for resistance facilitates adaptation across fitness valleys, allowing access to higher adaptive peaks.
  • Bacterial populations with phages can achieve greater evolutionary potential than those without.

Conclusions:

  • Bacteriophages enhance the evolutionary potential and adaptive capacity of bacterial populations.
  • Phages can increase long-term bacterial productivity by facilitating the evolution of faster-growing strains.
  • Findings suggest potential unintended consequences for phage therapy and highlight the complex role of phages in ecosystems.