Process by which a prophage becomes integrated within a bacterium's chromosome.
Contrast with plasmid prophage and see also attachment site. See also the concept of insertion mutations and insertion mutagenesis.
It is at the point of insertion that a temperate phage genome becomes a prophage (assuming a requirement for insertion for reduction to lysogeny) and though temperate phages can have preferred insertion sites, often insertion into additional sites is possible.
For more on this topic, see Wikipedia, Google, and PubMed. Contact web master. Return to terms.