Gene Transfer Essay Example
Gene transfer is the introduction of new DNA into an existing organisms' cell. There are two different types of gene transfers, vertical and horizontal gene transfer. Vertical transfer is the transfer that occurs over generations, from parents to offspring and horizontal gene transfer is the transfer of genes within a generation, to a recipient that is not its offspring.
The three different types of horizontal gene transfer are transformation, transduction, and conjunction. With transformation, it is the change in the organism's DNA through the transfer of naked DNA which contributes to genetic diversity. Transduction is the transfer of DNA from one bacterium to another by bacteriophage, this transfers the genetic material. Though both of those are successful ways of transferring genes, the main type of horizontal gene transfer is conjunction, which uses a pilus to transfer genetic information. It bridges the two cells together and the genetic information is replicated and transferred, and then both cells will have a copy of the genetic information.
Antibiotic resistance is whenever bacteria or fungi no longer respond to the antibiotics that are designed to kill them. How this happens is whenever you take an antibiotic, it will kill most of the bacteria, but some may survive. These surviving bacteria will no longer be effected by the original antibiotic. These bacteria will as well grow and spread the resistance to other bacteria they meet. Conjunction is a good example of how antibiotic resistance spreads. When the genes end up on plasmids, it will create a plasmid with resistance, and it will then donate the cells with the resistance gene to other bacteria. If two bacteria get close enough it can create a pilus which is a tube between the two bacteria connecting them. The plasmids with antibiotic resistance can then move through the tube to the other cell by temporarily being cut into a linear piece of DNA and will reform when it is in the other bacteria which is how it gets spread to other cells.
