Lysogenicity (Noun)
Meaning
The condition of a host bacterium that has incorporated a phage into its own genetic material; "when a phage infects a bacterium it can either destroy its host or be incorporated in the host genome in a state of lysogeny".
Classification
Nouns denoting natural processes.
Examples
- Lysogenicity occurs when a phage inserts its genome into a bacterium, but the phage's genes remain dormant until the host cell undergoes certain conditions that trigger viral replication.
- This temperate phage often exists in a state of lysogenicity with its bacterial host, eventually releasing a new phage that may either replicate and produce progeny or incorporate itself into a new host's genome.
- One theory proposes that certain pathogenic bacteria evolved as a result of phage integration through a condition of lysogenicity.
- Understanding lysogenicity and how certain bacteriophages evade a host's defense system by adopting a lysogenic relationship could hold significant importance in controlling pathogenic outbreaks.
- After successful incorporation, a temperate phage would achieve lysogenicity by down-regulating or up-regulating gene expression through multiple strategies within its newly obtained host organism.