Question

What is transformation?

Answer 1

Hint: On the planet Earth, there exist countless bacteria. They divide rapidly through binary fission, resulting in identical daughter cells. Vertical transmission refers to the transfer of genetic information from the mother to the children. Horizontal transmission is how mutations are passed from one bacterium to the next. For the transfer of genetic information, there are three basic types of horizontal transmission: Transformation Conjugation and transduction.

Complete answer:
The process of bacteria absorbing DNA from their surroundings is known as transformation. Competent cells are those cells that have the ability to take in DNA. Griffith was the first to describe this process in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Transformation is one of three processes for horizontal gene transfer in which exogenous genetic material passes from one bacterium to another; the other two are conjugation (transfer of genetic material between two bacterial cells in direct contact) and transduction (Genetic material transferred between two bacterial cells that are in indirect contact) (injection of foreign DNA by a bacteriophage virus into the host bacterium).

Additional information:
Conjugation is the process of genetic material being transferred from one bacterium to another when they come into contact. Lederberg and Tatum proposed this strategy. They proposed the concept of conjugation after discovering that the F-factor can transfer between E. coli cells. The process of bacteriophage-mediated gene transfer from the receiver to the donor is known as transduction. There are two types of transductions: Generalized Transduction and specialized Transduction.

Note:
The genetic modification of a cell caused by the direct uptake and assimilation of external genetic material from its surroundings across the cell membrane is known as transformation. The genetic material travels through the intermediary medium during transformation, and uptake is entirely dependent on the recipient bacterium. It is one of three types of horizontal gene transfer that occurs naturally among bacteria, the other two are transduction and conjugation. Natural transformation is a bacterial adaptation for DNA transfer that is dependent on the expression of a number of bacterial genes, the products of which appear to be responsible for the process.