The lytic cycle is one of the two cycles of viral reproduction, the other being the lysogenic cycle. The lytic cycle results in the destruction of the infected cell and its membrane. Bacteriophages that only use the lytic cycle are called virulent phages.
Lytic cycle, compared to lysogenic cycle
A bacteriophage, also known informally as a phage, is a virus that infects and replicates within bacteria and archaea. The term was derived from "bacteria" and the Greek φαγεῖν, meaning "to devour". Bacteriophages are composed of proteins that encapsulate a DNA or RNA genome, and may have structures that are either simple or elaborate. Their genomes may encode as few as four genes and as many as hundreds of genes. Phages replicate within the bacterium following the injection of their genome into its cytoplasm.
Bacteriophage T2, a member of the Myoviridae due to its contractile tail
Félix d'Herelle conducted the first clinical application of a bacteriophage
George Eliava pioneered the use of phages in treating bacterial infections
In this electron micrograph of bacteriophages attached to a bacterial cell, the viruses are the size and shape of coliphage T1