Transduction, Bacterial Conjugation, and Transfection: Three

Ways Bacteria Can Acquire New Genes

(Why antibiotic resistance is on the Rise and what measure can help prevent this?)

To put this subject into perspective we must understand the process by which this occurs

which is simply called Horizontal Gene Transfer or HGT. Simply put, this is the movement of

genetic material between organisms. It plays a critical role in bacterial growth and is the key

mechanism by which bacteria have acquired antibiotic resistance and virulence. Advances in the

laboratory have allowed scientists, who have studied how HGT occurs naturally to introduce

genetic substances into cells in the lab.

The introduction of unknown DNA or RNA into bacteria or eukaryotic cells is a common

technique in molecular biology and scientific research. There are multiple ways that unknown

DNA can be introduced into cells including transformation, transduction, conjugation, and

transfection, which for this essay will not be discussed. Transformation, transduction, and

conjugation occur naturally as forms of HGT, but transfection is unique to the lab. Let’s take a

look at these different methods of DNA insertion. For purposes of this paper, we will only take a

look at Transformation, transduction, and conjugation.

Transformation

Transformation is the uptake of genetic material from the environment by bacterial cells.

In nature, this genetic material often comes from adjacent lysed bacteria and can include plasmid

DNA or fragmented DNA released into the environment. Various factors promote natural

transformation in different bacteria such as growth phase of the cells or the presence of specific

substances. Though not all bacteria are naturally competent to take up DNA, they can be made

competent through chemical manipulation in the lab. This is commonly done using calcium
chloride which permeabilizes the cell membrane so the bacteria can easily uptake your plasmid

of interest.

Transduction

Transduction occurs when an unknown DNA or RNA is introduced into bacterial or

eukaryotic cells through a virus or viral trajectory.

An example would be bacteriophages that attach to bacterial membranes and inject their

genetic material into the cell. Once inside, phages can follow one of two different life cycles:

lytic or lysogenic. Lytic phages overtake the bacterial hosts machinery to make more viral

particles. Eventually the cell lyses releasing the newly formed viral particles that can infect other

bacteria. In the lysogenic cycle, the phage’s genetic material is incorporated into the host’s

genome at a particular integration site. The integrated phage remains dormant until it is triggered

to enter the lytic cycle.

During both of these life cycles bacterial DNA can be accidentally packaged into the

newly created phages. Transfer of this DNA to another cell is referred to as transduction.

Transferred DNA once inside the infected bacterium can either exist as transient

extrachromosomal DNA, like a plasmid, or it can integrate into the host bacterium’s genome

through homologous or site directed recombination.

Transduction is a common tool used by scientists to introduce different DNA sequences of

interest into a bacterial cell or a host’s genome. 

Bacterial Conjugation

Conjugation was the first widely studied method of gene transfer and it was uncovered in

1946 by Joshua Lederberg and Edward Tatum when they learned genetic recombination between

two nutrient deficient E. coli strains that resulted in a feral type E. coli.

During conjugation, genetic material is transferred from a host bacterium to a recipient

bacterium through direct contact. The host bacterium contains a DNA sequence called the F-

factor or the Fertility factor. The F-factor is found on an episome, which is a piece of DNA that

can duplicate on its own or be incorporated within a bacterial chromosome and allows the host

bacterium to make a small “bridge” that attaches to the recipient cell moving it close. Once in

contact the host can transfer genetic material to the recipient bacterium. The genetic material

transferred is commonly a plasmid and can deduce genetic advantages such as antibiotic

resistance.

Now that we know how bacteria acquire new genes let us take a look at why antibiotic resistance

is on the rise. According to World Health Organization or WHO, “a world without effective

antibiotics is a terrifying but real prospect.” So when antibiotics are used and moreover,

overused, the bacteria they are meant to kill can adapt and develop resistance, making these life-

saving medicines ineffective. Common medical procedures such as hip surgery, cesareans, or

chemotherapy, which today we take for granted, would be much less safe without adequate

antibiotics.

WHO also says that antibiotics are already failing and that “without urgent action we are

heading for a post-antibiotic era in which common infections and minor injuries can once again

kill.”
Worldwide, it is estimated that 73% of all antibiotics are used in farm animals, not people!

Much of this use is standard and enables allow farm animals, most often swine and poultry but in

some cases cattle, to be kept in poor conditions were disease spreads easily. Leading

organizations such as the European Medicines Agency and the WHO say that the overuse of

antibiotics in farming promotes higher levels of antibiotic resistance in some human infections.

In the UK, for instance, British livestock farmers have made some positive progress in

reducing their antibiotic use, and farm antibiotic use now represents about 30% of all British

antibiotic use. British swine and poultry farmers have reduced or, in some cases, completely

gotten rid routine use. Of course, this is welcome progress, however, much more needs to be

done, as antibiotic use remains dangerously high. Does this sound scary? Consequently, in the

U.S., the problem is getting worse with seemingly no improvement in sight. Doctors are

prescribing antibiotics like candy and the most likely culprit is high patient demand. And

because they are an “easy fix” to “cure” many ailments most physicians readily dole them out.

However, oftentimes they do not cure, and they can, in fact, make a person sicker!

If not carefully monitored an Adverse Drug Event (ADE) can occur; as a matter of fact,

researchers found that for every 10 days a person is on antibiotics there is an increased risk of

patients getting an ADE of at least 3% and the longer patients take antibiotics, the greater their

risk of developing a dangerous adverse reaction is.

This overuse has led to a recent rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs that, as the name

implies, does not respond to treatment. There is conjecture that antibiotic-resistant superbugs

may kill more people than cancer in the coming years.

 In summary, I pose the question what can we do to help mitigate the long-term effects of

antibiotic resistance? According to the CDC there are four major things that we can do which

are:

1. Preventing infections, preventing the spread of resistance.

Avoiding infections in the first place reduces the amount of antibiotics that have

to be used and reduces the likelihood that resistance will develop during therapy.

2. Tracking

CDC gathers data on antibiotic-resistant infections, causes of infections and

whether there are particular reasons (risk factors) that caused some people to get a

resistant infection. With that information, experts can develop specific strategies to

prevent those infections and prevent the resistant bacteria from spreading.

3. Improving antibiotic prescribing/stewardship

Perhaps the single most important action needed to greatly slow down the

development and spread of antibiotic-resistant infections is to change the way antibiotics

are used. Up to half of antibiotic use in humans and much of antibiotic use in animals is

unnecessary and inappropriate and makes everyone less safe.

4. Developing new drugs and diagnostic tests

Because antibiotic resistance occurs as part of a natural process in which bacteria

evolve, it can be slowed but not stopped. Therefore, we will always need new antibiotics

to keep up with resistant bacteria as well as new diagnostic tests to track the development

of resistance.
 References

Baltrus, David A., and Karen Guillemin. "Multiple phases of competence occur during the
Helicobacter pylori growth cycle." FEMS microbiology letters 255.1 (2006): 148-155.
PubMed PMID: 16436074.
Griffiths AJF, Miller JH, Suzuki DT, et al. Bacterial Conjugation. In An Introduction to Genetic
Analysis. 7th edition (2000).
Meibom, Karin L., et al. "Chitin induces natural competence in Vibrio
cholerae." Science 310.5755 (2005): 1824-1827. PubMed PMID: 16357262.
ZaggoCare. 2021, March 28. https://www..zaggocare.org/antibiotics