What is lysogeny in microbiology?

lysogeny, type of life cycle that takes place when a bacteriophage infects certain types of bacteria. In this process, the genome (the collection of genes in the nucleic acid core of a virus) of the bacteriophage stably integrates into the chromosome of the host bacterium and replicates in concert with it.

What does the word bacteriophage means?

bacteria eater
A bacteriophage is a type of virus that infects bacteria. In fact, the word “bacteriophage” literally means “bacteria eater,” because bacteriophages destroy their host cells.

Is bacteriophage harmful to humans?

Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria but are harmless to humans. To reproduce, they get into a bacterium, where they multiply, and finally they break the bacterial cell open to release the new viruses. Therefore, bacteriophages kill bacteria.

Why are antibiotics better than phages?

Bacteriophages are very specific, targeting only one or a few strains of bacteria. Traditional antibiotics have a more wide-ranging effect, killing both harmful bacteria and useful bacteria such as those facilitating food digestion.

What is the difference between lysis and lysogeny?

The lytic cycle involves the reproduction of viruses using a host cell to manufacture more viruses; the viruses then burst out of the cell. The lysogenic cycle involves the incorporation of the viral genome into the host cell genome, infecting it from within.

Who described lysogeny first?

4 Lysogeny Holloway (1969) even estimated that 100% of all natural isolates of P. aeruginosa were lysogenic for at least one phage and that many of these bacteria contained several prophages. Lysogeny may be a method by which both phages and bacteria can be protected in the environment.

Who coined the term bacteriophage?

Félix d’Hérelle
The terms “bacteriophage” and “phage” were coined by Félix d’Hérelle in 1918.

Are bacteriophages alive?

Bacteriophages, or “phages” for short, are viruses that specifically infect bacteria. Phages and other viruses are not considered living organisms because they can’t carry out biological processes without the help and cellular machinery of another organism.