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AAT Bioquest

What are the steps involved in specialized transduction?

Posted July 10, 2023


Answer

In specialized transduction, temperate bacteriophage transfer only a few specific DNA fragments from donor bacteria to recipient bacteria. The bacteriophage undergoes a lysogenic cycle in the donor cell. Steps involved in specialized transduction:

  1. Temperate bacteriophage enter the donor bacterium.
  2. The phage DNA gets integrated with the host cell’s DNA at specific locations. 
  3. The imprecise severing of phage DNA results in the removal of a portion of the bacterial chromosome. 
  4. The phage containing a portion of the bacterial chromosome infects a new host.
  5. The donor DNA is incorporated into the recipient bacterium during the lysogenic cycle of replication. 
  6. At the end of the specialized transduction procedure, the recipient displays the newly acquired genetic characteristic.
Additional resources

Screening for Highly Transduced Genes in Staphylococcus aureus Revealed Both Lateral and Specialized Transduction

Transfection Reagents

Transfectamine™ 5000 Transfection Reagent