“…However, in some cases, prophages can be induced into a lytic cycle by stressful environmental factors ( 1 ), and as a result, their DNA is excised from bacterial genomes ( 2 ), replicated, and packaged into complete phage particles, facilitating horizontal gene transfer (HGT) ( 3 ). Prophages are involved in several bacterial life processes; the expression of prophage functional genes can confer survival advantages on lysogens in adverse environments ( 4 , 5 ); virulent genes carried by prophages not only increase the virulence of the host bacteria ( 6 ) but can even convert a nonvirulent strain into a pathogenic strain ( 7 ); antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) can be disseminated via phage-mediated transduction ( 8 ), possibly enhancing bacterial pathogenicity. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly evident that elucidation of the roles of prophages in the bacterial life cycle is pertinent to the complete understanding of bacterial physiology, evolution, and population dynamics.…”