The λ‑integrase, originally derived from the λ‑phage, catalyzes the recombination of the phage genome with the chromosomal genome of its host in combination with several assisting proteins. Therefore, two attachment sites are necessary: one located on the bacterial genome (attB) and the other located on the λ‑genome (attP), which also contains several binding sites for regulatory proteins. The attachment sites contain homologous recognition sequences, called BOB' region (attB) and COC' region (attP). These regions can be connected by the λ‑integrase and the bacterial integration host factor (IHF) via Holliday junction, forming an intasome, a DNA‑protein‑complex, producing hybrid attachment sites attL and attR.

Figure 1: Crystal structure of the λ-Integrase in interaction with DNA. Created with VMD (Visual Molecular Dynamics).PDB entry, Biswas, T. et al. 2005