The responding phage enters lysogeny prematurely, sparing the bacterial host and reducing competition for the signaling phage’s own progeny.

Viruses can “eavesdrop” on each other using chemical signals – but it can backfire for the eavesdropper, new research shows. University of Exeter scientists studied chemical communication by phages ...

Viruses sense chemical signals left behind by their forebears so they can decide whether to kill or just to infect their hosts. The discovery—in viruses that attack Bacillus bacteria—marks the first ...