Why do phage play dice?

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelForskningfagfællebedømt

  • Mikkel Avlund
  • Ian B Dodd
  • Szabolcs Semsey
  • Sneppen, Kim
  • Sandeep Krishna

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.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftJournal of Virology
Vol/bind83
Udgave nummer22
Sider (fra-til)11416-20
Antal sider5
ISSN0022-538X
DOI
StatusUdgivet - nov. 2009
Eksternt udgivetJa

ID: 163917171