Lambda phage is a bacteriophage that infects E. coli and can undergo either lytic or lysogenic replication cycles. In the lytic cycle, the phage attaches to the bacterial cell and injects its DNA, which is then replicated and structural proteins are synthesized. New virions are assembled and released upon lysis of the host cell. In the lysogenic cycle, the phage DNA circularizes and integrates into the bacterial chromosome to form a prophage. The lysogenic bacteria replicate normally with the prophage until it enters the lytic cycle again. The genetic switch between lytic and lysogenic cycles is regulated by the cro and CI proteins of the phage.