Question

Is bacterial transformation a natural process?

Answer 1

Bacteria:

1. They are prokaryotic unicellular entities.
2. The cell might be rod-shaped, spherical (coccus), comma-shaped (vibrio), or spiral in shape (spirillum).
3. Membrane-bound organelles aren't present.
4. The cell wall is made up of peptidoglycan and is stiff.
5. Examples, Lactobacillus, Vibrio cholerae, etc.

Transformation:

1. It is a mode by which bacteria do horizontal gene transfer.
2. In this, a bacterial cell takes up foreign naked DNA from the surrounding.
3. That DNA can be incorporated into the genetic material of bacteria, can exist as a plasmid, or can be degraded.

Nature of the process:

1. It is a natural process used by bacteria for horizontal gene transfer.
2. However, it can be induced artificially by using divalent cations to make a bacterial cell membrane more permeable for the uptake of DNA.

Diagram showing the transformation process: