The lytic and lysogenic cycles are the two main phases of a virus’ infective lifecycle and route to replication. The lytic cycle, or virulent infection, involves a virus taking control of a host cell ...

Entry into the lytic or the lysogenic cycle is controlled by the lysis-lysogeny transcriptional switch. This switch activates the prophage, resulting in viral replication, host cell lysis, and the ...

Beyond a certain threshold, the viruses switch from employing the lytic cycle, in which they kill the host cell, to the lysogenic cycle, in which they avoid killing off their hosts.