Final answer:
A phage that replicates inside the host cell and then lyses it during release is a virulent or lytic phage. The lytic cycle involves controlling the host cell to produce new viruses and ultimately destroying it, whereas the lysogenic cycle involves integrating the viral DNA into the host's genome without immediate destruction.
Step-by-step explanation:
A phage that replicates inside the host cell and then lyses its host during its release is a virulent or lytic phage. Virulent phages are characterized by their capability to perform the lytic cycle, which is a process where the bacteriophage takes control of a bacterial cell, uses it to produce new phages, and then ultimately destroys the cell by lysis. Aspects of the lytic cycle include the synthesis of viral components, maturation of new virions, and their release after the bacterial cell wall is disrupted by phage proteins such as holin or lysozyme. This should not be confused with the lysogenic cycle, where the phage DNA is integrated into the host genome and can be replicated without destroying the host cell until certain environmental triggers induce the switch to the lytic cycle.
Examples of a lytic bacteriophage are the T-even phages like T4, which infect Escherichia coli. Contrastingly, the λ (lambda) virus is an example of a lysogenic bacteriophage that can also infect E. coli but integrates into the host genome without immediately lysing the cell. Latency, on the other hand, is a similar concept found in viruses that infect plant or animal cells, such as herpesviruses.