<p><br>Temperate bacterial viruses (or phages) have two divergent life cycles when infecting their host; A virulent (lytic) cycle where they rapidly replicate to produce hundreds of virions and kill their host, or a dormant (lysogenic) cycle where it typically integrates into the host genome and replicate with it. The social environment of the cell is a major determinant of the phage’s decision between its life cycles, but the consequences of sociality are still being explored. In this lecture, I will introduce the canonical phage lambda model where this has been studied and a recent model for phage sociality which is based on detection of small molecule signals. I will then discuss three works which combine experiments, genomics and theory to discuss the nature of social signals in different systems and their implication for phage decision making, social cooperation and their evolution.</p><p> </p><p><strong>FOR THE LATEST UPDATES AND CONTENT ON SOFT MATTER AND BIOLOGICAL PHYSICS AT THE WEIZMANN, VISIT OUR WEBSITE: https://www.biosoftweizmann.com/</strong></p><p> </p>
