Hi! I noticed this questions it's missing its options, so after a little research on the internet, I came across the missing part of it, so I'll copy it below this paragraph.
Question with options:
Which best describes the different modes of bacterial reproduction?
A. In genetic recombination, two new genetically identical cells are produced.
B. In conjugation, a special sex pilus is required to connect two bacterial cells.
C. In transduction, a bacterium exchanges a piece of its own DNA with another from the environment.
D. In transformation, bacterial DNA is transferred from one bacterium to another by a replicating virus.
Answer:
The correct answer is <em>B. In conjugation, a special sex pilus is required to connect two bacterial cells</em>.
Explanation:
Bacteria are prokaryotes (unicellular organisms that lack a nucleus and other organelles) and since they have no sex (there are no female or male bacteria), they can only procreate through asexual reproduction (this means that the parent bacteria copies itself to create its daughters).
The process in which bacterias reproduce is called binary fission, which consists of the enlargement of the bacteria and its division into two new identical cells (for this to happen, it first has to duplicate its chromosome, as this is the bacteria's DNA).
Bacterias can acquire new DNA through 3 different processes:
Transformation: the bacterium takes in new DNA that has picked up from its environment. If it's plasmid DNA (it has a circular form) it can be copied and passed to the daughter cells.
Transduction: this happens when a virus that infects bacteria (a bacteriophage) accidentally leaves a part of another's bacteria DNA in the bacteria that is now infecting.
Conjugation: in this process, bacteria acquire new DNA thanks to a donor. This donor passes its (usually) plasmid DNA through a sex pilus for the bacteria on the other end to receive it.
