occur in the absence of RNA; however, capsid assembly is nucleated by coat protein dimer binding to the operator hairpin, and assembly occurs at much lower concentrations of coat protein when MS2 RNA is present.

Bacterial lysis and release of newly formed virions occurs when sufficient lysis protein has accumulated. Lysis (L) protein forms pores in the cytoplasmic membrane, which leads to loss of membrane potential and breakdown of the cell wall. The lysis