The \textit{E. Coli} Response To A Phage Perturbation

Bacteria have evolved a variety of defenses against extreme environmental pressure. While a majority of the population dies during times of stress, a portion of the population continues to survive due to the cell's phenotypic state. We study the response of the bacterial system to attack by a particular virus called lambda phage. During times of phage attack bacteria continue to create and lose receptors making the bacteria more or less sensitive to the applied phage concentration. We use experiment and modeling to study how the creation and loss of receptors affects the response and recovery of the bacterial population due to an applied phage pressure.