Prophage
A prophage is a bacteriophage genome. It is part of the circular bacterial DNA chromosome, or it is a plasmid outside the circular chromosome..
This is a latent form of a phage: the viral genes are there in the bacterium but cause no disruption of the bacterial cell.
Pro means "before", so, prophage means the stage of a virus inserted into host DNA before being activated inside the host.[1]
Prophages are important agents of horizontal gene transfer.[2]
References
- ↑ Fortier, L.C.. Importance of prophages to evolution and virulence of bacterial pathogens. Virulence 4 (5) (2013). p. 354–365. doi:10.4161/viru.24498.
- ↑ Genomics of bacterial and archaeal viruses: dynamics within the prokaryotic virosphere. Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews 75 (4) (2011). p. 610–635. doi:10.1128/MMBR.00011-11.