The popular methods of genetic transfer unleashed


The process of horizontal gene transfer (otherwise known as HGT) can be described as one organism acquiring the DNA of another organism. This can be observed in many types of organisms but is usually performed by prokaryotic organisms – mainly bacteria. There is a multitude of ways for doing this genetic transfer processes and it results in an “endosymbiotic” organism, containing both sets of DNA.
Four main methods used by bacteria for Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT)-
These methods are Conjugation, Transformation, Transduction, and Introgression. Herein the following section all these four methods are explained in detail.
  • Conjugation in Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT), this method occurs through direct contact between two bacterial cells. It begins with the separation of the DNA to be transported overusing a section of bi-functional enzymes, which have trans-esterase activities built into them. Then the DNA is transported across the covalent bond between the two cells and is unwound by DNA helicase enzymes – ready to now enter the new bacterium and become integrated into its own DNA makeup.

Conjugation has been observed at different levels, through many methods of study and these studies show that a majority of DNA is being transferred via bacterial conjugation is in some way related to antibiotic resistance in the genetic transfer process.


  • Transformation - this is another genetic transfer process in the bacterial transformation by which bacteria perform HGT, with natural transformation is the main process of incorporating another organism’s DNA into its own genome. This process is observed when a bacterial cell allows a section of its DNA to leave the cell and allows it then to be taken up by another, an adjacent bacterium. For acquiring new functions, it can be integrated into its own DNA.


  • Transduction - this method itself has many stages. In this genetic transfer process, with the help of a bacteriophage DNA fragment is being transferred from one bacterium to another bacterium. Major two forms of transduction are generalized and specialized transduction. Generalized transduction can occur in different types of bacteria like- Salmonella, Escherichia, etc. While specialized transduction occurs occasionally in the lysogenic lifecycle of temperate bacteriophage.

As is with the other methods of the genetic transfer process, is essential to cell speciation, adaptation, and cellular evolution. It can assist in transferring DNA to another organism to increase virulence and improve the efficiency of metabolic reactions.  This process is very important as it can introduce a major, new defence function called antibiotic resistance.

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