Mechanism
There are several mechanisms for horizontal gene transfer:
- Transformation, the genetic alteration of a cell resulting from the introduction, uptake and expression of foreign genetic material (DNA or RNA). This process is relatively common in bacteria, but less so in eukaryotes. Transformation is often used in laboratories to insert novel genes into bacteria for experiments or for industrial or medical applications. See also molecular biology and biotechnology.
- Transduction, the process in which bacterial DNA is moved from one bacterium to another by a virus (a bacteriophage, or phage).
- Bacterial conjugation, a process in which a bacterial cell transfers genetic material to another cell by cell-to-cell contact.
- Gene transfer agents, virus-like elements encoded by the host that are found in the alphaproteobacteria order Rhodobacterales.
Read more about this topic: Horizontal Gene Transfer
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