Question

A bacteriophage with a lytic life cycle develops a mutation that allows it to also go through the lysogenic cycle. How would this provide an evolutionary advantage over the other bacteriophages that can only spread through lytic cycles?

a) It allows the virus to integrate its genetic material into the host chromosome, ensuring long-term survival.
b) It increases the rate of viral replication within the host cell.
c) It enables the virus to evade the host immune system more effectively.
d) It reduces the chance of horizontal gene transfer among bacteria.

Answer 1

A bacteriophage with both lytic and lysogenic cycles gains an evolutionary advantage by integrating its genetic material into the host chromosome, ensuring long-term survival and enabling it to evade the host immune system more effectively.

Step-by-step explanation:

The evolutionary advantage of a bacteriophage with both lytic and lysogenic cycles is that it allows the virus to integrate its genetic material into the host chromosome, ensuring long-term survival. In the lysogenic cycle, the phage genome becomes part of the host's genome, enabling it to be passed on to subsequent generations. This integration provides the virus with a means of hiding from the host immune system, increasing its chances of survival.