A plasmid carrying resistance genes is transferred between bacteria via physical cell-to-cell contact requiring a sex pilus. This mode of genetic transfer is:
- A Conjugation ✓
- B Transformation
- C Transduction
- D Transposition
Explanation
Conjugation is the direct transfer of DNA from a donor to a recipient bacterium via a sex pilus (encoded by the F-plasmid or conjugative resistance plasmid), which forms a physical bridge through which plasmid DNA is transferred. This is the primary mechanism of horizontal gene transfer for large resistance plasmids (including those carrying ESBLs, carbapenemases). Transformation involves uptake of free DNA from the environment. Transduction involves bacteriophage-mediated DNA transfer. Transposition is the movement of insertion sequences/transposons within or between DNA molecules within a cell.
Reference: Ananthanarayan & Paniker's Textbook of Microbiology, 11th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
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