DQ 2 Bacterial Exchange of Genetic Material Essay.

Some organisms transmit genetic material to their offspring without any cell division. Prokaryotes, including single-celled microorganisms and bacteria, have developed several methods of recombining their genetic material, contributing to genetic diversity. Common ways in which bacteria diversify their DNA are transformation, transduction, conjugation, and lysogenic conversion.DQ 2 Bacterial Exchange of Genetic Material Essay.

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Transformation

This is the process where competent or susceptible bacterial cell acquires new genetic material from the environment. The two types of transformation are natural and artificial. In natural transformation, the cell uses natural means of acquiring genetic material from the environment (Sun, 2018). Naturally existing DNA components enter the bacterium through the cell membrane, and it is hydrolyzed. In artificial transformation, the bacterial host cells acquire genetic material under set laboratory conditions. In the lab, foreign DNA is introduced into the bacterial cells through transformation for gene study.DQ 2 Bacterial Exchange of Genetic Material Essay.

Transduction

It is the process through which viruses transfer genetic material from one bacterium to another. The process is dependent on a specific type of virus known as the bacteriophage, which infects bacterial cells and utilizes them as hosts to create more viruses. The bacteriophage injects its genetic material into the host bacterium, which is then synthesized into more bacteriophages.

Conjugation

It is a process where one bacteria transmit genetic material to another bacterium through direct contact. During the process, one bacterium serves as the donor and the other as the recipient (Villa et al., 2019). The donor transfers a DNA sequence known as the fertility factor that allows pilus production in the donor. In turn, the donor uses the pilus to contact the recipient and transfer genetic material.DQ 2 Bacterial Exchange of Genetic Material Essay.

Lysogenic conversion

Also known as phage conversion, the lysogenic conversion is where some phages can survive in the bacteria and integrate their DNA into the host chromosome. The integrated DNA is known as the prophage.DQ 2 Bacterial Exchange of Genetic Material Essay.