Transfer of Random Pieces of DNA Mediated by Phage Is

Question

Transfer of random pieces of DNA mediated by phage is known as
A) transformation of competent cells.
B) generalized transduction.
C) conjugation.
D) transposition.
E) specialized transduction.

Accepted Answer

Generalized transduction describes the transfer of random pieces of DNA mediated by bacteriophage during the lytic cycle of infection. The phage, during the process of packaging nucleic acid, can sometimes mistakenly package bacterial DNA instead of its own DNA. This packaged bacterial DNA can then be transferred to a recipient bacterial cell upon infection by the same phage, leading to horizontal gene transfer.