Conjugation Transformation Transduction

Conjugation is the direct transfer of DNA — usually a plasmid — from a donor bacterium to a recipient through a connecting structure called a pilus. It requires cell-to-cell contact and is a major route for spreading antibiotic-resistance genes.

Transformation is the uptake of free DNA released into the environment by dead bacteria, while transduction is the transfer of DNA from one bacterium to another inside a bacteriophage. Transformation needs no virus; transduction depends on a phage as the carrier.

Transduction is horizontal gene transfer in which a bacteriophage accidentally packages host bacterial DNA and injects it into a new bacterium during infection, moving genes between cells without direct contact.

Bacteria transfer genes horizontally through three mechanisms: conjugation (pilus-mediated transfer of plasmids), transformation (uptake of free environmental DNA), and transduction (phage-mediated transfer). All three can spread traits such as antibiotic resistance.

It shows the three horizontal gene transfer mechanisms side by side — a donor and recipient joined by a pilus for conjugation, a cell taking up free DNA for transformation, and a phage carrying DNA for transduction — so the differences are easy to compare.

Yes. The figure is fully editable in SciFig — relabel donor and recipient cells, plasmids, and phages, adjust the layout, and export it in publication-ready formats for your slides or manuscript.