In transduction, how is genetic material transferred between bacteria?

• A. Uptake of DNA from the environment
• B. DNA transferred via virus
• C. Direct transfer of DNA via pili
• D. DNA exchange during cell division

Answer: (B)

Transduction is when a bacteriophage acts as a vehicle to move DNA from one bacterium to another. During phage replication, a phage may accidentally package pieces of the host’s DNA instead of its own genome. When that Phage particle infects a new bacterium, it injects that bacterial DNA, which can then recombine into the new host’s chromosome. This stands in contrast to transformation, where cells take up free DNA from the environment, and conjugation, where DNA is transferred directly between cells via pili. There’s also no DNA exchange during cell division as a mechanism of horizontal transfer. In transduction, the gene transfer is mediated by a virus, either as random DNA fragments (generalized) or, for certain genes near the prophage site (specialized).