# Lysogen

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lysogen
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lysogen.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysogen
> Source revision: 1275631949
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Bacteria}}

A '''lysogen''' or '''lysogenic bacteria''' is a bacterial cell that can produce and transfer the ability to produce a [phage](/source/bacteriophage).<ref name="Lwoff1953">{{cite journal |last1=Lwoff |first1=André |title=Lysogeny. |journal=Bacteriological Reviews |date=December 1953 |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=269–337 |doi=10.1128/br.17.4.269-337.1953 |pmid=13105613 |pmc=180777}}</ref> A [prophage](/source/prophage) is either integrated into the host [bacteria](/source/bacteria)'s [chromosome](/source/chromosome) or more rarely exists as a stable [plasmid](/source/plasmid) within the host cell. The prophage expresses gene(s) that repress the phage's [lytic](/source/lysis) action, until this repression is disrupted (see [lytic cycle](/source/lytic_cycle)). Currently a variety of studies are being conducted to see whether other genes are active during lysogeny, examples of which include phage-encoded [tRNA](/source/tRNA) and virulence genes.

==History==
Theories about Lysogeny dominated the field of microbiology between 1920 and 1929. However, lysogenic bacteria were first brought to light by studies conducted in 1921 that explored the mechanisms between phages and bacteria.<ref name="Lwoff1953" />

==Lysogenic Conversion==
Lysogenic conversion is a process that occurs between a bacterium and a phage that is often beneficial for the bacteria. In lysogenic conversion, the phage inserts specific characteristics into the bacterial genes causing the bacteria to have better survival. Lysogenic conversion has been known to convert non-pathogenic bacteria into pathogenic bacteria that is capable of producing harmful toxins.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Feiner |first1=Ron |last2=Argov |first2=Tal |last3=Rabinovich |first3=Lev |last4=Sigal |first4=Nadejda |last5=Borovok |first5=Ilya |last6=Herskovits |first6=Anat A. |title=A new perspective on lysogeny: prophages as active regulatory switches of bacteria |journal=Nature Reviews Microbiology |date=16 September 2015 |volume=13 |issue=10 |pages=641–650 |doi=10.1038/nrmicro3527 |pmid=26373372 |s2cid=11546907}}</ref>

==Types==
* [Lambda phage](/source/Lambda_phage)

==See also==
* [lysogenic cycle](/source/lysogenic_cycle)

==References==
<references />

Category:Bacteriophages

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lysogen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysogen) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysogen?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.