The lytic cycle is one of the two cycles of viral reproduction, the other being the lysogenic cycle. The lytic cycle is typically considered the main method of viral replication, since it results in the destruction of the infected cell. A key difference between the lytic and lysogenic phage cycles is that in the lytic phage, the viral DNA exists as a separate molecule within the bacterial cell, and replicates separately from the host bacterial DNA. The location of viral DNA in the lysogenic phage cycle is within the host DNA, therefore in both cases the virus/phage replicates using the host DNA machinery, but in the lytic phage cycle, the phage is a free floating separate molecule to the host DNA
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