Lysogenic cycle

Lysogeny, or the lysogenic cycle, is one of two cycles of viral reproduction (the lytic cycle is the other). Lysogeny is characterized by integration of the bacteriophage nucleic acid into the host bacterium's genome or formations of a circular replicon in the bacterium's cytoplasm. In this condition the bacterium continues to live and reproduce normally. The genetic material of the bacteriophage, called a prophage, can be transmitted to daughter cells at each subsequent cell division, and a later event (such as UV radiation or the presence of certain chemicals) can release it, causing proliferation of new phages via the lytic cycle. Lysogenic cycles can also occur in eukaryotes, although the method of DNA incorporation is not fully understood.