2026 9th Grade Biology SOL Complete Practice Test

The situation described is a viral strategy where the genome hides inside the host by becoming part of the host’s DNA and can stay there for a very long time, even years. This is the lysogenic cycle. In this cycle, the viral DNA inserts itself into the host genome and is copied along with the host’s DNA when the cell divides, so no new viruses are made during this quiet phase. The virus can remain dormant until an event or stress triggers it to switch to the lytic cycle, in which new viral particles are produced and the host cell is often destroyed. This contrasts with the lytic cycle, where the virus immediately commandeers the cell’s machinery to replicate and then bursts the cell to release new viruses. The other terms aren’t used to describe this behavior, while lysogenic captures the idea of integration and long-term dormancy within the host genome.