Prophage
Prophage
Prophage (/ˈproʊfeɪdʒ/), from the Greek words pro meaning "before" and phage meaning "to eat", is a term used in Microbiology and Virology to describe the latent form of a bacteriophage that has integrated its genome into the DNA of a host bacteria.
Etymology
The term "prophage" is derived from the Greek words pro, meaning "before", and phage, meaning "to eat". This reflects the prophage's ability to lie dormant within a host organism before becoming active and initiating the lytic cycle.
Definition
A prophage is a bacteriophage (a virus that infects bacteria) that is integrated into the bacterial DNA. This integration allows the prophage to be replicated along with the bacterial DNA, effectively becoming a part of the host organism's genetic material. This state is known as lysogeny.
Related Terms
- Lysogeny: The state in which a bacteriophage's DNA is integrated into the DNA of its host bacteria.
- Lytic cycle: The process by which a virus replicates within a host cell and then lyses (breaks open) the cell to release new viruses.
- Bacteriophage: A type of virus that infects bacteria.
- Genome: The complete set of genes or genetic material present in a cell or organism.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Prophage
- Wikipedia's article - Prophage
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