Abstract
Phage lambda is among the simplest organisms that make a developmental decision. An infected bacterium goes either into the lytic state, where the phage particles rapidly replicate and eventually lyse the cell, or into a lysogenic state, where the phage goes dormant and replicates along with the cell. Experimental observations by P. Kourilsky are consistent with a single phage infection deterministically choosing lysis and double infection resulting in a stochastic choice. We argue that the phage are playing a "game" of minimizing the chance of extinction and that the shift from determinism to stochasticity is due to a shift from a single-player to a multiplayer game. Crucial to the argument is the clonal identity of the phage.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of Virology |
| Volume | 83 |
| Issue number | 22 |
| Pages (from-to) | 11416-20 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| ISSN | 0022-538X |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Nov 2009 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Bacteriophage lambda
- Game Theory
- Lysogeny
- Probability
- Stochastic Processes
- Virus Activation
- Journal Article
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't