University of Central Florida (UCF) MCB2004 Microbiology for Health Professionals Practice Exam 2

The lytic cycle is characterized by the destruction of the host cell and the release of viral progeny. In this cycle, a virus attaches to a susceptible host cell and injects its genetic material. The host's cellular machinery is hijacked to replicate the viral components, leading to the assembly of new virions. Eventually, these new viruses are released from the cell, typically causing cell lysis, which refers to the breaking apart of the cell membrane. This results in the death of the host cell and the simultaneous release of numerous viral particles, allowing them to infect additional cells.

In contrast, the lysogenic cycle involves the integration of viral DNA into the host's genome, where it can remain dormant without causing cell death. The latent cycle also refers to periods of dormancy where the virus is not actively replicating, leading to no immediate destruction of the host cell. Transformation typically refers to the process where a virus induces changes in the host cell that can lead to tumor formation, but does not necessarily describe cycles of viral replication and release like the lytic cycle does.