微生物学 双语教学Chapter 8 Microbial genetics.pptVIP

Microorganisms provide relatively simple systems for studying genetic phenomena and are thus useful tools in attempts to decipher the mechanisms underlying the genetics of all organisms. Microorganisms are used for the isolation and duplication of specific genes from other organisms, a technique called molecular cloning. In molecular cloning, genes are manipulated and placed in a microorganism where they can be induced to increase in number. DNA Transfer in Bacteria transformation transduction conjugation (1) Transformation, which involves donor DNA free in the environment (2) Transduction, in which the donor DNA transfer is mediated by a virus (3) Conjugation, in which the transfer involves cell-to-cell contact and a conjugative plasmid in the donor cell Three main processes of genetic recombination in prokaryotes fragments of homologous DNA from a donor chromosome are transferred to a recipient cell Conjugation Transformation Transduction Transformation A number of prokaryotes have been found to be naturally transformable, including certain species of both gram-negative and gram-positive Bacteria and some species of Archaea. However, even within transformable genera, only certain strains or species are transformable Competence A cell that is able to take up a molecule of DNA and be transformed is said to be competent. Competence in most naturally transformable bacteria is regulated, and special proteins play a role in the uptake and processing of DNA. These competence-specific proteins may include a membrane-associated DNA binding protein, a cell wall autolysin, and various nucleases. Competent cells bind much more DNA than do noncompetent cells as much as 1000 times more Binding of free DNA by a membrane-bound DNA binding protein. (b) Passage of one of the two strands into the cell while nuclease activity degrades the other strand. (c) The single strand in the cell is bound by specific proteins, and recombination with homologous regions of the bacteri