The lysogenic cycle or lysogeny is one of the two viral reproductive lifecycles (the other one is the lytic cycle) characterized by integrating the viral genome into the host bacterial chromosome. It is also called a non-virulent infection since it does not kill the host.

The lysogenic cycle is a method by which a virus can replicate its DNA using a host cell. Typically, viruses can undergo two types of DNA replication: the lysogenic cycle or the lytic cycle. In the lysogenic cycle, the DNA is only replicated, not translated into proteins.

The lytic cycle involves the reproduction of viruses using a host cell to manufacture more viruses; the viruses then burst out of the cell. The lysogenic cycle involves the incorporation of the viral genome into the host cell genome, infecting it from within.

Lysogeny, or the lysogenic cycle, is one of two cycles of viral reproduction (the lytic cycle being the other). Lysogeny is characterized by integration of the bacteriophage nucleic acid into the host bacterium's genome or formation of a circular replicon in the bacterial cytoplasm.

In the lysogenic cycle, the virus reproduces by first injecting its genetic material, indicated by the red line, into the host cell's genetic instructions. © HowStuffWorks. Once inside the host cell, some viruses, such as herpes and HIV, do not reproduce right away.