Which statement lists the three mechanisms by which bacteria accomplish horizontal gene transfer?

Which statement lists the three mechanisms by which bacteria accomplish horizontal gene transfer?

• A. Conjugation, Transformation, Transduction
• B. Binary Fission, Transformation, Mutation
• C. Conjugation, Binary Fission, Transformation
• D. Conjugation, Transformation, Mutation

Answer: (A)

Horizontal gene transfer in bacteria happens through three main routes: conjugation, transformation, and transduction. Conjugation involves direct cell-to-cell contact, often via a pilus, allowing DNA to move from a donor to a recipient, frequently involving plasmids like the F plasmid. Transformation is the uptake of free DNA from the surrounding environment by a competent cell, with that DNA often integrating into the recipient’s genome or plasmids. Transduction uses bacteriophages to transfer DNA from donor to recipient, either by generalized transduction, where any bacterial gene can be carried, or specialized transduction, where genes near a prophage site are transferred. These mechanisms are distinct from processes like binary fission, which is cell division, and mutation, which is a change in DNA within a lineage rather than DNA acquired from another cell.

Horizontal gene transfer in bacteria happens through three main routes: conjugation, transformation, and transduction. Conjugation involves direct cell-to-cell contact, often via a pilus, allowing DNA to move from a donor to a recipient, frequently involving plasmids like the F plasmid. Transformation is the uptake of free DNA from the surrounding environment by a competent cell, with that DNA often integrating into the recipient’s genome or plasmids. Transduction uses bacteriophages to transfer DNA from donor to recipient, either by generalized transduction, where any bacterial gene can be carried, or specialized transduction, where genes near a prophage site are transferred.

These mechanisms are distinct from processes like binary fission, which is cell division, and mutation, which is a change in DNA within a lineage rather than DNA acquired from another cell.