HORIZONTAL GENE

TRANSFER IN BACTERIA
Cheyenne Benson
Advanced Biomedical Sciences

BACTERIA CAN SWAP DNA.

transformation

transduction

HORIZONTAL GENE TRANSFER HAPPENS IN

THREE WAYS: TRANSFORMATION,
TRANSDUCTION, AND CONJUGATION.

conjugation

IS STEALING
FROM THE

TRANSDUCTION IS
TRANSPORTATION.

CONJUGATION IS SHARING
TOGETHER.

Boyd D, Peters GA, Cloeckaert A, Boumedine KS, Chaslus-Dancla E,

Imberechts H, Mulvey MR Complete nucleotide sequence of a 43-kilobase
genomic island associated with the multidrug resistance region of
Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium DT104 and its identification in
phage type DT120 and serovar Agona. J Bacteriol.2001;183:5725-32

Kaiser, G. (2014, October 29). Horizontal gene transfer in bacteria.

Retrieved November 5, 2014, from
http://faculty.ccbcmd.edu/~gkaiser/SoftChalk BIOL 230/Bacterial
Genetics/HGT/index.html

Horizontal gene transfer. (2012, January 2). Retrieved November 5, 2014,

from http://mpkb.org/home/pathogenesis/horizontal_gene

Horizontal gene transfer. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2014, from

http://academic.pgcc.edu/~kroberts/Lecture/Chapter 7/horizontal.html

Maloy, S. (2002, July 15). Horizontal Gene Transfer. Retrieved November 5,

2014, from
http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/~smaloy/MicrobialGenetics/topics/geneticexchange/exchange/exchange.html

REFERENCES

If you take the 21 plasmids of Borrelia,

they can transfer DNA in 21! (21 factorial)
combinations with other species, which is a
VERY large number. Then you have to add in
the DNA in the plasmids of the other key
species, add all of their chromosomes, add
in the remaining non-plasmid bacterial
species, add the viruses, stir the soup
together, and the number of combinations
of pathogenic DNA in our cells becomes
virtually infinite. Trevor Marshall, PhD

QUESTIONS?