Lytic and Lysogenic Cycles

Compare and contrast the differences between lytic and lysogenic life cycles of a virus.

The lytic cycle is a reproductive cycle of a phage, that results in destroying the host cell. This cycle produces new phages by using the host cell to replicate itself. Once the phages have assembled within the host cell, they will digest and break through the host’s cell wall. The lysogenic cycle replicates the phage’s DNA and incorporates it into the DNA of the host cell. Every time the host cell divides, it will replicate this phage DNA along with its own DNA. These two cycles are connected, because a cell in the lysogenic cycle can be triggered to move into the lytic cycle and will start reproducing the actual phages. Phages that can do this are known as temperate phages, phages that can only utilize the lytic cycle are known as virulent phages.

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