Phage-mediated lysis increases growth rate of surviving bacterial cells

Bacteriophage infection and lysis are typically associated with bacterial death, yet they also release cellular components that can be reutilized by surviving cells, particularly under nutrient limitation. To quantify the short-term growth consequences of this process, we established a controlled system of two Escherichia coli lysogenic strains, one harboring a wild-type prophage and the other a temperature-inducible prophage, enabling selective lysis of a defined fraction of the population. Following induction and lysis, the resulting biomass loss was smaller than expected, consistent with rapid recycling of released material and enhanced growth of surviving cells. A phenomenological mathematical model captures these dynamics and identifies a fast, transient increase in growth rate that accounts for the observed biomass compensation. Independent single-cell microfluidic measurements confirmed this boost in growth rate. Together, this work provides quantitative insight into short-term nutrient recycling and growth dynamics following phage-mediated lysis during active bacterial growth.