André Lwoff
May 31, 2024
In the early 1950s André Lwoff studied bacteriophages — viruses that infect bacteria, eventually using them to replicate. At times, many new phage are created quickly, while at other times, new phage are formed only several bacterial generations later. Lwoff successfully explained how this process, known as lysogeny, works. The bacteriophage’s genes are incorporated into the bacteria’s genetic material, but remain latent until a trigger factor causes new phage to be formed. Lwoff also showed that ultraviolet light can be one such factor.
Read his Nobel Prize lecture: https://bit.ly/3yeKUP4
Image: Transmission electron micrograph of multiple bacteriophages attached to a bacterial cell wall; the magnification is approximately 200,000.
