---
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: hybrid
PlanS_conform: '1'
_id: '21985'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Upon infecting a bacterial cell, temperate phages make a decision between
lysis and lysogeny. While research has previously explored how phages sense environmental
information to make this choice, most studies have focused on modelling known
mechanisms that impact the decision. These mechanisms tell us what environmental
information the phage does respond to, but not what it should respond to, as the
signals sensed by the phage may serve as proxies for other sources of information.
Here, using a mechanism-agnostic population dynamics model, we find that irreversible
phage binding to lysogens protects sensitive host cells from infection. This results
in lysogens being an additional environmental factor that the phage should sense
while making its decision to undergo lysis or lysogeny. Using this model, we derive
a responsive lysogeny probability for phages that respond to both cell and lysogen
densities optimized towards invading phage-occupied systems, and show that it
is more capable of invading and resisting invasion than phage with fixed lysogeny
probabilities across different environmental conditions.
acknowledgement: We thank Fyodor Kondrashov and Gašper Tkačik for valuable input and
guidance in building the model, and Stephen Abedon as well as the two anonymous
reviewers for the comments provided on the manuscript.
article_processing_charge: Yes (via OA deal)
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Bryan
full_name: Wu, Bryan
id: 3C521EBA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Wu
- first_name: Calin C
full_name: Guet, Calin C
id: 47F8433E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Guet
orcid: 0000-0001-6220-2052
citation:
ama: Wu B, Guet CC. Responsive lysogeny under nonproductive phage binding. Evolution.
2026;80(6):1365-1373. doi:10.1093/evolut/qpag061
apa: Wu, B., & Guet, C. C. (2026). Responsive lysogeny under nonproductive phage
binding. Evolution. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpag061
chicago: Wu, Bryan, and Calin C Guet. “Responsive Lysogeny under Nonproductive Phage
Binding.” Evolution. Oxford University Press, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpag061.
ieee: B. Wu and C. C. Guet, “Responsive lysogeny under nonproductive phage binding,”
Evolution, vol. 80, no. 6. Oxford University Press, pp. 1365–1373, 2026.
ista: Wu B, Guet CC. 2026. Responsive lysogeny under nonproductive phage binding.
Evolution. 80(6), 1365–1373.
mla: Wu, Bryan, and Calin C. Guet. “Responsive Lysogeny under Nonproductive Phage
Binding.” Evolution, vol. 80, no. 6, Oxford University Press, 2026, pp.
1365–73, doi:10.1093/evolut/qpag061.
short: B. Wu, C.C. Guet, Evolution 80 (2026) 1365–1373.
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2026-06-10T07:38:12Z
date_published: 2026-06-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-06-16T12:46:02Z
day: '01'
ddc:
- '570'
department:
- _id: CaGu
doi: 10.1093/evolut/qpag061
external_id:
pmid:
- '41968110'
file:
- access_level: open_access
checksum: 6d0f48566a7a36cb0c469e1968c9cb1c
content_type: application/pdf
creator: dernst
date_created: 2026-06-16T12:45:09Z
date_updated: 2026-06-16T12:45:09Z
file_id: '22015'
file_name: 2026_Evolution_Wu.pdf
file_size: 2077781
relation: main_file
success: 1
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has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: ' 80'
issue: '6'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '06'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: 1365-1373
pmid: 1
publication: Evolution
publication_identifier:
eissn:
- 1558-5646
issn:
- 0014-3820
publication_status: published
publisher: Oxford University Press
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
link:
- relation: software
url: https://github.com/theguetlab/responsive-lysogeny
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Responsive lysogeny under nonproductive phage binding
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 80
year: '2026'
...
---
OA_place: publisher
_id: '20470'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: "Systems design has classically relied on composable systems, in which individual
subsystems\r\nhave defined inputs, outputs, and interactions with each other;
however, attempts at\r\ndesigning complex systems in synthetic biology has often
run in to issues of crosstalk and\r\ninterference, given that these systems must
function within the context of the host. In nature,\r\nmobile genetic elements
are systems that have evolved to travel between hosts, and thus\r\nappear to be
a good candidate with which to evaluate composability. Selecting temperate\r\nphages
as a model system, I used mathematical modelling to identify sources of information\r\nthat
temperate phages should respond to. I found that essential proteins of temperate
phages\r\ncan interfere with potential hosts, indicating limitations to composability.
I also designed a\r\nlysogeny reporter construct and characterize its behavior
across various laboratory and\r\nenvironmental strains, finding differences in
phage lambda lysogens, and potential\r\ninterference from prophages that already
exist within the environmental strains. Although\r\nthe information gathered is
not conclusive, it suggests that composability is not a key property\r\nof temperate
phages, implying that biological systems may not be composable, and that other\r\nsystem
design principles should be considered when designing synthetic systems."
alternative_title:
- ISTA Thesis
article_processing_charge: No
author:
- first_name: Bryan
full_name: Wu, Bryan
id: 3C521EBA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Wu
citation:
ama: Wu B. An examination on phages as a naturally composable system. 2025. doi:10.15479/AT-ISTA-20470
apa: Wu, B. (2025). An examination on phages as a naturally composable system.
Institute of Science and Technology Austria. https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-20470
chicago: Wu, Bryan. “An Examination on Phages as a Naturally Composable System.”
Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2025. https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-20470.
ieee: B. Wu, “An examination on phages as a naturally composable system,” Institute
of Science and Technology Austria, 2025.
ista: Wu B. 2025. An examination on phages as a naturally composable system. Institute
of Science and Technology Austria.
mla: Wu, Bryan. An Examination on Phages as a Naturally Composable System.
Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2025, doi:10.15479/AT-ISTA-20470.
short: B. Wu, An Examination on Phages as a Naturally Composable System, Institute
of Science and Technology Austria, 2025.
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2025-10-15T13:30:21Z
date_published: 2025-10-30T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-05-06T08:01:28Z
day: '30'
ddc:
- '579'
degree_awarded: PhD
department:
- _id: GradSch
- _id: CaGu
doi: 10.15479/AT-ISTA-20470
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checksum: d32ea83f259f6b0506325cd57b1d44c3
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creator: brwu
date_created: 2025-10-21T17:33:27Z
date_updated: 2026-04-30T22:30:02Z
embargo_to: open_access
file_id: '20516'
file_name: 2025_Wu_Bryan_Thesis.docx
file_size: 10603235
relation: source_file
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checksum: 53590046fd3244c5550b4022282449d2
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creator: brwu
date_created: 2025-10-21T17:33:26Z
date_updated: 2026-04-30T22:30:02Z
embargo: 2026-04-30
file_id: '20517'
file_name: 2025_Wu_Bryan_Thesis.pdf
file_size: 6251936
relation: main_file
file_date_updated: 2026-04-30T22:30:02Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '10'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: '102'
publication_identifier:
issn:
- 2663-337X
publication_status: published
publisher: Institute of Science and Technology Austria
status: public
supervisor:
- first_name: Calin C
full_name: Guet, Calin C
id: 47F8433E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Guet
orcid: 0000-0001-6220-2052
title: An examination on phages as a naturally composable system
type: dissertation
user_id: 8b945eb4-e2f2-11eb-945a-df72226e66a9
year: '2025'
...