A phage infection that destroys, i.e. lyses its host cell at the end of its latent period in order to release intracellular phage progeny.
CAUTION: POTENTIALLY AMBIGUOUS TERM
Contrast lysogenic infection as well as the infectious cycle associated with chronic infections. Somewhat equivalent to lytic cycle.
A lytic infection either does or does not follow a lysogenic infection, depending on phage as well as circumstances. To distinguish these two possibilities, one can employ the terms "induced lytic infection" and "immediately lytic infection", respectively.
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