Fig. 8.

Model showing that phages with a shorter morphogenesis period have an advantage in a host-rich environment. Phages with late or early programmed lysis times are shown in black or red, respectively. The programmed lysis time for the red phage is time = 1 and time = 3 for the first and second generation, and the black phage lyses at time = 2. The late temporal program (A) has the advantage of releasing more phages in a single burst in the host-poor environment, compared to the shorter program (B). Below the dashed line: A host-rich environment will confer advantage to the early temporal program (C), since the cycles of exponential growth are shortened. Advantage is judged as the total free phage at time = 3, indicated as theoretical titer. It should be noted that for simplicity, variables such as the rate of adsorption or injection are not considered in this model.