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• Biology Article

Bacterial Genetics

Table of Contents

Mechanism of Bacterial Conjugation

Generalized transduction, specialized transduction, bacterial competence, how to identify transformed cells.

There are numerous bacteria found on planet earth. They divide quickly by binary fission producing identical daughter cells. Thus, the genetic information is transferred from the mother to the offspring and is known as vertical transmission.

The mutations are transferred from one bacteria to another through horizontal transmission. There are three different types of horizontal transmission for the transfer of genetic information.

• Conjugation
• Transduction
• Transformation

Bacterial Conjugation

Conjugation is the method of transfer of genetic material from one bacteria to another placed in contact. This method was proposed by Lederberg and Tatum. They discovered that the F-factor can move between E.coli cells and proposed the concept of conjugation.

There are various conjugal plasmids carried by various bacterial species. Conjugation is carried out in several steps:

• Mating pair formation
• Conjugal DNA synthesis
• DNA transfer

Also Read:  R-Factor

Bacterial conjugation involves the following steps:

Pilus Formation

The donor cells (F+ cells) form a sex pilus and begin contact with an F- recipient cell.

Physical Contact between Donor and Recipient Cell

The pilus forms a conjugation tube and enables direct contact between the donor and the recipient cells.

Transfer of F-Plasmid

The F-factor opens at the origin of replication. One strand is cut at the origin of replication, and the 5’ end enters the recipient cell.

Synthesis of Complementary Strand

The donor and the recipient strand both contain a single strand of the F-plasmid. Thus, a complementary strand is synthesized in both the recipient and the donor. The recipient cell now contains a copy of F plasmid and becomes a donor cell.

Also Read:  Difference between Virus and Bacteria

Bacterial Transduction

Transduction is the process of transfer of genes from the recipient to the donor through bacteriophage.

Transduction is of two types:

In this type, the bacteriophage first infects the donor cells and begins the lytic cycle. The virus then develops its components using the host cell machinery. The host cell DNA is hydrolyzed into small fragments by the viral enzymes.

Small pieces of bacteria DNA is now integrated into viral genome. When the virus infects another bacteria the DNA is transferred into it.

In this, only a few restricted bacteria are transferred from donor to recipient bacteria. This is carried out by temperate bacteriophage which undergoes the lysogenic cycle.

The virus enters the bacteria and integrates its genome within the host cell DNA. It remains dormant and passes on from generation to generation. When the lysogenic cell is exposed to some external stimulus, the lytic cycle begins.

The viral genome is induced in the host cell genome. Due to this, the phage genome sometimes carries the bacterial genome with it and integrates it into the genome of the recipient cell. Here, only the restricted genome has the possibility of entering the recipient cells.

Bacterial Transformation

Transformation is the process of DNA uptake by the bacteria from the surrounding environment. The cells that have the ability to uptake DNA are known as competent cells . This process was first reported in Streptococcus pneumonia by Griffith.

Not all bacteria are capable of taking up DNA from the surrounding environment. Such bacteria are made artificially competent. This is achieved by using chemicals and electrical pulses.

• Chemicals- The cells are chilled and made permeable in the presence of calcium phosphate. They are then incubated with the DNA and provided with a heat shock treatment that causes the DNA to enter the cells.
• Electroporation- The bacterial cells are subjected to electrical pulses to make them permeable and cause the DNA to enter into cells.

The bacteria are grown on an agar medium with antibiotics to check for transformed cells. Only the bacteria containing the antibiotic resistance gene will grow in the presence of antibiotics. The cells that survive and grow are transformed cells. The others are non-transformed.

Also Read: E.coli

For more information on bacterial genetics, bacterial conjugation, bacterial transduction, and bacterial transformation, keep visiting BYJU’S website or download BYJU’S app for further reference.

Frequently Asked Questions on

What are the three methods of genetic transfer in bacteria.

The three methods of genetic transfer in bacteria are conjugation, transduction and transformation.

What is bacterial genetic material?

The genetic material of bacteria is deoxy ribo nucleic acid or DNA. It is present as a single copy in circular form in the nucleoid region of bacteria.

What is plasmid DNA?

The extra chromosomal circular DNA present in bacteria is called plasmid. It codes for some genes like antibiotic resistance genes. During conjugation, a copy of plasmid is transferred to other bacteria. E.g: F-factor.

What is conjugation?

Conjugation is the transfer of genetic material from one bacteria to another through a conjugation tube.

What is the importance of bacterial transformation?

Transformation is the process of uptake of genetic material by bacteria from its surroundings. It is utilized in genetic engineering to introduce a foreign gene into the bacterium.

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UCL Translational Research Office Blog

Gene Therapy explained: Changing our bodies’ recipe to treat disease

By Alina Shrourou, on 19 January 2021

Written by Linda von Nerée, NIHR Blood and Transplant Research Unit in Stem Cells and Immunotherapies at UCL.

How many pairs of jeans do you have in your wardrobe? How many genes are in your body? What are genes anyway and do you know how they can help to treat an illness?!

All is explained in this brand-new animation from us at the NIHR Blood and Transplant Research Unit in Stem Cells and Immunotherapies at University College London (UCL BTRU). Well, except how many jeans you own, that stays your secret.

Young people asking questions about gene therapy in the animation ‘Gene Therapy explained: Changing our bodies’ recipe to treat disease’. Screenshot from an animation provided by KindeaLabs.

Gene therapy helps to treat some inherited diseases passed on from parent to child that don’t have a treatment or cure yet. Many different gene therapies are currently in development all over the world for many inherited diseases such as those that affect the ability of our blood’s immune system to fight off infections that make us ill.

The animation shows, Alexis and Freddie, two members of the Young Persons’ Advisory Group (YPAG) at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children asking questions to understand what gene therapy is about. All members of the group were involved in shaping the animation and they regularly work with doctors, nurses and scientists helping to improve health care research for children. When possible, the group meets near the Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, where scientists look for new and better ways to treat uncommon diseases in children.

Why this Gene Therapy animation?

‘I spent most of my career as a researcher developing gene therapies for children who have an immune system that doesn’t function properly. The immune system of these children can’t protect them from infections and become life-threatening. A lot is said on the news about gene editing, less how it can help to treat inherited diseases.

Alexis and Freddie helped us to brilliantly explain just this in our animation. We hope it finds much interest and explains a ground-breaking future treatment for some inherited conditions.’ – Adrian Thrasher, Professor in Paediatric Immunology and Research Lead at the NIHR Blood and Transplant Research Unit in Stem Cells and Immunotherapies at University College London (UCL)

What was it like to work on the Gene Therapy animation?

It is a new and innovative way to treat some inherited diseases, which surprised me because I thought there were a few other remedies and cures already out there. I really like the animation, and I’m so glad it has turned out this well, (especially the hair), I am so grateful to have had an opportunity to be a part of this! – Alexis, member of the Young Persons’ Advisory Group (YPAG) at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children  I enjoyed being part of the animation because I have never done anything like that before. Because of the lockdown I went in my bedroom and recorded my voice on a phone which was strange, but I think the finished animation is good.’ – Freddie, YPAG member at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children ‘It was a huge pleasure to work with Alexis, Freddie and YPAG as a group of inspiring young people involved in improving health through research. Their ideas and invaluable input made the animation so much better and very different from the first draft we presented back to them at a meeting in summer 2018.’ – Linda von Nerée, Patient and Public Involvement Lead at NIHR Blood and Transplant Research Unit in Stem Cells and Immunotherapies at UCL ‘It is such a privilege to work in the gene therapy field and see research in action. I had a great time attending the YPAG group and hearing from its members. Alexis and Freddie have done a great job!’ Katie Snell, Lead Gene Therapy Research Nurse at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health

The Young Persons’ Advisory Group (YPAG) at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children – young people making health care research for children better

Did you know?

Researchers estimate that we have between 20,000 and 25,000 genes in our body. We have two copies of each gene, one from each parent.

Learn more in the full animation:

‘Gene Therapy explained: Changing our bodies’ recipe to treat disease’

Let us know what you think and if you like it. Please share widely with your friends and family!

About the authors

• Alexis – I joined YPAG when I was 8 years old and I have been a member for 5 years! Including the voices of young people is important because we are the next up and coming generation, and in a few years we will be the ones filling these roles so I think it’s important we have a say in how our future is going to be like.
• Freddie – I am 12 years old and I joined YPAG when I was 9. I really enjoy YPAG because I learn something new every time and get to be involved in interesting things like this animation.
• Linda – In my role, I bring together patients, members of the public, researchers, doctors and nurses to learn from each other and design research in the best possible way for those to benefit from it. Working with YPAG is a huge pleasure!

About the Young Persons’ Advisory Group (YPAG)

We are a group of young people working with doctors, nurses and researchers to add our views and opinions to the development of new treatments for children. We are part of GenerationR , a network of young people improving health through research.

More at: https://www.gosh.nhs.uk/research-and-innovation/nihr-gosh-brc/patient-and-public-involvement

About the NIHR Blood and Transplant Research Unit in Stem Cells and Immunotherapies at University College London

The NIHR Blood and Transplant Research Unit (BTRU) in Stem Cell and Immunotherapies at University College London (UCL) is an academic partnership with NHS Blood and Transplant funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). It focusses on improving stem cell transplants (transfer of stem cells, which lead to new blood cells in the recipient) and the use of novel therapies, including CAR-T and gene therapy, both to treat inherited genetic disorders and to repair or strengthen the immune system’s ability to fight infection or disease. For more information, please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/cancer/research/centres-and-networks/nihr-blood-and-transplant-research-unit-stem-cells-and-immunotherapies or follow @BTRUinStemCells on twitter.

Filed under Articles , Gene Therapy

Tags: gene therapy , NIHR BTRU , Patient and Public Involvement

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• Published: 13 January 2022

The gene TaWOX5 overcomes genotype dependency in wheat genetic transformation

• Ke Wang   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6776-4935 1 ,
• Lei Shi 1   na1 ,
• Xiaona Liang 1   na1 ,
• Pei Zhao 1 ,
• Wanxin Wang 1 ,
• Junxian Liu 2 ,
• Yanan Chang 2 ,
• Yukoh Hiei 3 ,
• Chizu Yanagihara 3 ,
• Lipu Du 1 ,
• Yuji Ishida   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9466-6978 3 &
• Xingguo Ye   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6616-2753 1  

Nature Plants volume  8 ,  pages 110–117 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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• Genetic engineering
• Molecular engineering in plants

An Author Correction to this article was published on 30 May 2022

This article has been updated

Although great progress has been achieved regarding wheat genetic transformation technology in the past decade 1 , 2 , 3 , genotype dependency, the most impactful factor in wheat genetic transformation, currently limits the capacity for wheat improvement by transgenic integration and genome-editing approaches. The application of regeneration-related genes during in vitro culture could potentially contribute to enhancement of plant transformation efficiency 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 . In the present study, we found that overexpression of the wheat gene TaWOX5 from the WUSCHEL family dramatically increases transformation efficiency with less genotype dependency than other methods. The expression of TaWOX5 in wheat calli prohibited neither shoot differentiation nor root development. Moreover, successfully transformed transgenic wheat plants can clearly be recognized based on a visible botanic phenotype, relatively wider flag leaves. Application of TaWOX5 improved wheat immature embryo transformation and regeneration. The use of TaWOX5 in improvement of transformation efficiency also showed promising results in Triticum monococcum , triticale, rye, barley and maize.

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Leaf transformation for efficient random integration and targeted genome modification in maize and sorghum

A GRF–GIF chimeric protein improves the regeneration efficiency of transgenic plants

Recent advances in crop transformation technologies

Data availability.

Accession numbers and gene names are available from the phylogenetic tree in Extended Data Fig. 1 . The accession numbers of genes identified in this study are available in Supplementary Table 1 , and their sequences are provided in the Supplementary sequence file. The accession number of pWMB111 is MZ458107. Raw data for experiments are available in Supplementary Tables 2 and 3 . Transgenic lines and plasmids generated are available from the corresponding authors on request. Source data are provided with this paper.

Change history

30 may 2022.

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-022-01173-3

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Acknowledgements

We thank W. Xiao at Saint Louis University, USA and H. Li at the Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences for critical revisions of this manuscript. This research was financially supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 31971946) to K.W., the Science and Technology Department of Ningxia in China (no. 2019BBF02020) to X.Y. and the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (nos. S2021ZD03 and 2060302-2-19) to K.W. and X.Y..

Author information

These authors contributed equally: Lei Shi, Xiaona Liang.

Authors and Affiliations

Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China

Ke Wang, Lei Shi, Xiaona Liang, Pei Zhao, Wanxin Wang, Lipu Du & Xingguo Ye

College of Life Science, Capital Normal University, Beijing, P. R. China

Junxian Liu & Yanan Chang

Plant Innovation Center, Japan Tobacco Inc., Iwata, Japan

Yukoh Hiei, Chizu Yanagihara & Yuji Ishida

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

K.W. contributed to funding acquisition, experimental design, vector construction, wheat and barley transformation, data analysis and manuscript writing. L.S. contributed to gene identification, vector construction and transgenic detection. X.L. performed medium modification and wheat transformation. P.Z. was involved in gene identification and sequence analysis. W.W. was involved in barley transformation and manuscript writing. J.L. performed transformation of T. monococcum and rye. Y.C. performed transformation of triticale. Y.H. performed transformation of maize. C.Y. contributed to vector construction. L.D. contributed material management and medium preparation. Y.I. contributed to experimental design, wheat transformation and manuscript editing. X.Y. conceived the study, supervised experiments, conducted formal analysis and contributed to project administration, funding acquisition and manuscript editing.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Ke Wang , Yuji Ishida or Xingguo Ye .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

K.W., X.Y. and L.D. (all ICS-CAAS) are co-inventors in Chinese patent application no. ZL201710422896.6. X.Y., K.W., L.S. and L.D. (all ICS-CAAS) and Y.I. and C.Y. (both JT) are co-inventors in international patent application no. PCT/CN2018/090239, in which ICS-CAAS and JT had shared ownership; the share of the latter was assigned to Kaneka Corporation, a Japanese chemical company, on 29 January 2021. The remaining authors declare no competing interests.

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Nature Plants thanks Sadiye Hayta and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Extended data

Extended data fig. 1 phylogenetic relationships among tawox5 and tawus proteins from wheat, and wox proteins from arabidopsis ..

The phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the sequences of TaWOX5 and TaWUS proteins in wheat and WOX proteins in Arabidopsis in MEGA X using the neighbor-joining approach with 1,000 bootstrap replicates. Scale plate and legend in left display tree scale and bootstrap value. AtWUS: NP_565429; AtWOX1: NP_188428; AtWOX2: NP_200742; AtWOX3: NP_180429; AtWOX4: NP_175145; AtWOX5: NP_187735; AtWOX6: NP_565263; AtWOX7: NP_196196; AtWOX8: NP_199410; AtWOX9: NP_180944; AtWOX10: NP_173494; AtWOX11: NP_187016; AtWOX12: NP_197283; AtWOX13: NP_195280; AtWOX14: NP_173493. TaWOX5: MN412513; TaWUS-A: MW452946; TaWUS-B: MW452947; TaWUS-D: MW452945.

Extended Data Fig. 2 Shoot regeneration of the immature embryos of different wheat genotypes promoted by the TaWOX5 gene.

a: Shoot regeneration of the wheat embryos transformed with control vectors. b: Shoot regeneration of the wheat embryos transformed with TaWOX5 gene containing vector. The calli on plates were some overcrowding.

Extended Data Fig. 3 Detection of transgenic wheat plants by QuickStix Kit and PCR.

a: QuickStix Kit assay for the Bar protein; 1-21: transgenic plants; 22: wild-type Fielder. b: PCR detection for Bar gene, this testing experiment being repeated at least three times with similar results; 1: plasmid of TaWOX5 vector; 2: wild-type Fielder; 3-24: transgenic plants.

Source data

Extended data fig. 4.

Comparison of the transient infection efficiency of different wheat varieties by expressing anthocyanin biosynthesis genes ZmR and ZmC1 as visible markers.

Extended Data Fig. 5 Normal growth of the regeneration shoots and roots derived from a transformed immature embryo of Fielder using the TaWOX5 gene in three experimental replicates.

a : The growth status of regeneration shoots; b : the growth status of the transgenic plants with healthy shoots and roots.

Extended Data Fig. 6

The plasmids map of pWMB111-TaWOX5 and TaWOX5- SpCas9-TaQ .

Supplementary information

Supplementary information.

Supplementary Tables 1–5 and the sequences of TaWOX5 and TaWUS used in this study.

Reporting Summary

Source data fig. 1.

Statistical source data.

Source Data Extended Data Fig. 3

Unprocessed gels.

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Wang, K., Shi, L., Liang, X. et al. The gene TaWOX5 overcomes genotype dependency in wheat genetic transformation. Nat. Plants 8 , 110–117 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-021-01085-8

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Received : 20 May 2021

Accepted : 01 December 2021

Published : 13 January 2022

Issue Date : February 2022

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-021-01085-8

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Genetic transformation of potato without antibiotic-assisted selection.

1. Introduction

2. materials and methods, 2.1. plant material and general conditions, 2.2. potato regeneration media, 2.3. agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of potato with and without antibiotic selection, 2.4. monitoring of green and red fluorescence, 2.5. molecular analysis, 2.6. statistical analysis, 3.1. efficiency of adventitious plant regeneration of potato cultivars, 3.2. agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of potato without antibiotic–assisted selection, 3.2.1. efficiency of transient expression under selective- and non-selective cultivation, 3.2.2. efficiency of regeneration of gfp-positive transgenic plants under non-selective and selective cultivation, 3.2.3. impact of the regeneration type on the identification of gfp-positive plants under non-selective pressure, 3.2.4. efficiency of antibiotic-free genetic transformation of two potato cultivars using rfp monitoring, 4. discussion, supplementary materials, author contributions, data availability statement, acknowledgments, conflicts of interest.

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Miroshnichenko, D.; Klementyeva, A.; Sidorova, T.; Pushin, A.S.; Dolgov, S. Genetic Transformation of Potato without Antibiotic-Assisted Selection. Horticulturae 2024 , 10 , 222. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10030222

Miroshnichenko D, Klementyeva A, Sidorova T, Pushin AS, Dolgov S. Genetic Transformation of Potato without Antibiotic-Assisted Selection. Horticulturae . 2024; 10(3):222. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10030222

Miroshnichenko, Dmitry, Anna Klementyeva, Tatiana Sidorova, Alexander S. Pushin, and Sergey Dolgov. 2024. "Genetic Transformation of Potato without Antibiotic-Assisted Selection" Horticulturae 10, no. 3: 222. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10030222

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