AP Success - AP Biology Conceptual Analysis: Info Storage & Transfer - Viruses

Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria. The lytic cycle and the lysogenic cycle are two ways that bacteriophages reproduce. In the lytic cycle, the virus takes over the host cell's machinery to replicate its DNA and produce new virus particles, which then burst out of the cell, killing it. In the lysogenic cycle, the virus integrates its DNA into the host cell's genome, where it remains dormant until triggered to enter the lytic cycle.

Describe the differences between the lytic and lysogenic cycles of bacteriophage reproduction.

A bacteriophage with a mutation that prevents it from entering the lysogenic cycle infects a bacterial cell. Explain how this mutation would affect the virus's ability to reproduce and survive.

Predict the outcome if a bacteriophage that normally undergoes the lysogenic cycle were to infect a bacterial cell that is under severe environmental stress.

Some researchers claim that the ability of bacteriophages to switch between the lytic and lysogenic cycles is a key factor in their evolutionary success. Provide reasoning to justify this claim.