Coevolution, Bacterial-Phage

Bacteriophage viruses (phages) are seemingly ubiquitous across all niches on earth occupied by their bacterial hosts. These phages can either integrate into the genomes of bacterial hosts or reproduce within, and then lyse their host cells. In both cases phages are able to shape the evolution and ecology of bacterial populations, often with important consequences for other interacting species or ecological and biogeochemical processes that depend on microbial organisms. This article explores the process and impact of bacteria–phage coevolution as evidenced from both controlled laboratory experiments and studies of natural populations.