Question

It is very important to study lambda biology as lambda phages are used for cloning purposes. Which of the statement is true for lambda phage?

(a) It is an example of temperate phage

(b) The fate of the phage is decided before it infects the cell

(c) The lysis fate is that where the phage inserts its genome into the bacterial genome and the replication goes on

(d) The lysogenic fate is that where the phage infects the cell and lysis is carried out

The question was asked by my college professor while I was bunking the class.

This interesting question is from Bacteriophage Lambda topic in chapter Other Vector Systems for E of Genetic Engineering

Answer 1

Correct answer is (a) It is an example of temperate phage

Explanation: Lambda phage is a temperate phage and its fate is decided as it infects the cell. It can be either be lytic or lysogenic in nature. Lytic phage is that which infects the cell and it is lysed whereas lysogenic phage is that in which phage genome is inserted into the bacterial genome and is replicated along with it.