Bacterial conjugation

Common card · No. 411813

Bacterial conjugation is the transfer of genetic material between bacterial cells by direct cell-to-cell contact or by a bridge-like connection between two cells. This typically takes place through a type IV secretion system, a type of pilus. It is a parasexual mode of reproduction in bacteria. It is a mechanism of horizontal gene transfer as are transformation and transduction although these two other mechanisms do not involve cell-to-cell contact. Classical E. coli bacterial conjugation is often regarded as the bacterial equivalent of sexual reproduction or mating, since it involves the exchange of genetic material. However, it is not sexual reproduction, since no exchange of gamete occurs, and indeed no generation of a new organism: instead, an existing organism is transformed. During classical E. coli conjugation, the donor cell provides a conjugative or mobilizable genetic element that is most often a plasmid or transposon. Most conjugative plasmids have systems ensuring that the...

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