Question

What is transduction?

Answer 1

Hint: Transduction is a common tool widely used by molecular biologists. It was used as a groundbreaking molecular biological technique to modify the genetic building of bacteria, to identify bacterial genes, and for many other genetic experiments. It is done with bacteriophage.

Complete step by step answer:
A genetic recombination mechanism in bacteria during which genes from a cell (example a bacterium) are inserted into the genome of a bacterial virus (bacteriophage) is then transferred to another host cell when another period of infection is initiated by the bacteriophage is called as transduction. In general transduction, all of the host cell genes may be involved in the process; however, only a few unique genes are transduced in the special transduction.
Transduction does not involve physical contact between the DNA donating cell and the DNA receiving cell (which occurs in conjugation) and is resistant to DNase (transformation is DNase susceptible).
Zinder and Lederberg (1952) had discovered transduction in Salmonella.

P1, which can translate E.Coli DNA to several Gram-negative bacteria is a good example of a generalized transducing phage.
E.coli phage lambda is a classic example of a specialized transducer phage which precisely integrates its DNA between operons encoding enzymes responsible for galactose (gal) and biotin (bio) use in the E.coli chromosome.

Note: The transfer of genetic material between two bacteria takes place through the organization of some temperate viruses. A bacteriophage functions as a vector and during the transduction process moves a piece of DNA from one bacterium (donor) to another (recipient). It is a kind of mechanism for the horizontal transfer of genes. Along with conjugation, the infectious transmission of episomes, and transformation, transduction joins the battery of genetic transfer modes in bacteria.