Читать книгу Snyder and Champness Molecular Genetics of Bacteria - Tina M. Henkin - Страница 29

Genetic experiments with an organism usually require some form of exchange of DNA or genes between members of the species. Most types of organisms on Earth are known to have some means of genetic exchange, which presumably accelerates evolution and increases the adaptability of a species.

Exchange of DNA from one bacterium to another can occur in one of three ways. In transformation, DNA released from one cell enters another cell of the same species (see chapter 6). In conjugation, discrete genetic elements transfer DNA from one cell to another (see chapter 5). Finally, in transduction, a bacterial virus accidentally picks up DNA from a cell it has infected and delivers this DNA into another cell (see chapter 7). The ability to exchange DNA between strains of a bacterium makes possible genetic crosses and complementation tests, as well as the tests essential to genetic analysis.