Bacterial Transformation
Bacterial Transformation Bacterial transformation is a process in which a bacterial cell takes up foreign or naked DNA from its surrounding environment and incorporates it into its own genetic material. This results in the acquisition of new genetic characteristics by the bacterial cell. Transformation is one of the major mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer in bacteria, along with conjugation and transduction. It plays an important role in bacterial evolution, adaptation, and genetic diversity. It is also widely used as an important technique in molecular biology and biotechnology. Discovery of Bacterial Transformation The phenomenon of bacterial transformation was first discovered by Frederick Griffith in 1928 while studying Streptococcus pneumoniae. He worked with two types of bacterial strains: the Smooth (S) strain and the Rough (R) strain. The S strain possessed a polysaccharide capsule and was pathogenic, whereas the R strain lacked a capsule and was non-pathogen...