User:Lifessojourner/Bacteriophage

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Bacteriophage-host symbiosis

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Temperate phages are bacteriophage that integrate their genetic material into the host as extrachromosomal episomes or as prophage during a lysogenic cycle. Some temperate phages can confer fitness advantages to their host in numerous ways. For example: antibiotic resistance through the transfer or introduction of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), protect hosts from phagocytosis, protect hosts from secondary infection through superinfection exclusion,   enhance pathogenicity of host, or by enhancing bacterial metabolism or growth. Bacteriophage-host symbiosis may benefit bacteria by providing selective advantages while passively replicating the phage genome.