Transduction in bacteria refers to what?

• A. Direct DNA uptake from the environment
• B. Transfer of bacterial genes via a viral vector (bacteriophage)
• C. Transfer of DNA via sex pili
• D. DNA replication without transfer

Answer: (B)

Transduction is the process by which bacterial genes are transferred from one cell to another by a bacteriophage. During phage infection, the virus can accidentally package fragments of the donor cell’s DNA and then inject that DNA into a new recipient, enabling horizontal gene transfer. There are two flavors: generalized transduction, where any donor gene can be carried by a lytic phage, and specialized transduction, where genes adjacent to the prophage are transferred during lysogeny. This mechanism is distinct from transformation, which relies on uptake of free DNA from the environment, and from conjugation, which requires direct cell-to-cell contact via sex pili.