Question

Write an essay on sexual reproduction in bacteria.

Answer 1

Bacteria do not reproduce exactly by sexual reproduction but they do share genetic material. There are three different types of sexual reproduction:

1. Conjugation: When two bacteria come close together, they make contact using the pilus. The genetic material is transferred through the pilus from the one cell which contains the plasmid to another cell that does not have a plasmid. The plasmid encodes genes that are responsible for pilus development and fertility factor.
2. Transduction: When a virus infects the host cell by injecting its genetic material, it destroys the host cell by breaking up the DNA of the host. During the replication of the virus, some virus contains fragments of the host DNA. These viruses are non-virulent. When such a virus affects another cell, it transfers another host cell's DNA. This process is called transduction.
3. Transformation: When bacteria take up free DNA from the environment, the process is called transformation. This experiment is usually performed to introduce plasmids into bacteria during in vitro studies.