prophage

noun

pro·​phage ˈprō-ˌfāj 

-ˌfäzh

: an intracellular form of a bacteriophage in which it is harmless to the host, is usually integrated into the hereditary material of the host, and reproduces when the host does

Examples of prophage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But sometimes, a prophage gets trapped by a crippling mutation. —Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 5 Jan. 2011

In their analysis of infant stool samples, Vatanen, Jabbar and their colleagues identified an apparent example: A prophage that was integrated into the DNA of one bacterial species showed up in a different bacterium months later. —Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 17 Jan. 2023

Within the bacterial genome, the viral DNA is called a prophage. —Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 5 Jan. 2011

The prophage is little more than a genetic parasite. —Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 5 Jan. 2011

Once activated, the prophage cuts itself out of the bacterial genome, replicates and then packages its DNA into phages. —Quanta Magazine, 16 Oct. 2018

Known as a prophage, this stretch of foreign DNA can persist for generations before activating. —Quanta Magazine, 16 Oct. 2018

In the right conditions—say, if the bacteria are damaged, stressed, or exposed to certain conditions—prophages can awaken. —Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 1 Feb. 2018

Word History

Etymology

pro- entry 1 + phage after French probactériophage, from pro- pro- entry 1 + bactériophage bacteriophage

Note: The French word probactériophage was introduced by André Lwoff and Antoinette Gutmann in "Recherches sur un Bacillus megatherium lysogène," Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, vol. 78, no. 6 (June, 1950), p. 734.

First Known Use

1951, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for prophage

• assuage
• backstage
• bocage
• downstage
• engage
• enrage
• leafage
• messuage
• offstage
• onstage
• outrage
• pelage

Medical Definition

prophage

noun

pro·​phage ˈprō-ˌfāj  -ˌfäzh 

: an intracellular form of a bacteriophage in which it is harmless to the host, is usually integrated into the hereditary material of the host, and reproduces when the host does