Selection for lysis inhibition in bacteriophage

Abstract

For Escherichia coli cells that have been infected by T-even bacteriophages (phages T2, T4, and T6), the adsorption of a second T-even phage results in an increase in the length of the original phage infection and an associated increase in the number of phages produced by the same infected cell. This is a phage encoded response called lysis inhibition. In this study the ecological significance of lysis inhibition is explored. In particular it is argued that lysis inhibition is an adaptive response to environments containing high concentrations of infected cells and low concentrations of uninfected cells.