Ex2- Transfer of Genetic Information Flashcards
How do Bacteria reproduce by binary fission?
In this process, the chromosome of the mother cell is replicated and a copy is allocated to each of the daughter cells. As a result the two daughter cells are genetically identical.
What events can result in a heritable changes in the genomes?
The events that are able to causes changes in heritable genomes to daughter cells are genetic transfer and recombination, plasmids and transposons.
What is genetic transfer and in what direction does it occur?
genetic transfer is the mechanism by which DNA is transferred from donor to recipient. This always occurs in unidirectional and partial.
In what 3 ways can Genetic transfer Happen
3 ways Genetic transfer can occur are by:
- Conjugation
- Transduction/Transfection
- Transformation
What is conjugation?
-Conjugation: The movement if DNA through a plus by action of the F’ fertility factor.
What is Transduction/Tranfection?
Transduction/Transfection: the use of a virus vector to deliver the DNA into the target cell such as the lambda phage,P1.
What is Transformation?
Transformation: The direct uptake of naked DNA by the cell. Does not happen very often.
What are the main characteristics of Bacterial conjugation?
- donor strains contain an additional genetic element, called the fertility factor F+,which carries the plasmid that encodes the transformation machinery.
- F+ strains mate with F- strains
- DNA transfer occurs unidirectionally from the F+ to the F- with a partial transfer.
What are some interesting factors of the F’ fertility factor?
- Much larger than the average plasmid
- It can relocate both through the rolling-circle and normal double stranded (theta structure) replication
- Can replicate into the host chromosome , which allows for the transfer of part or all of the donor chromosome to the recipient
What are the key areas of the F’ site.
The key areas include:
- oriT
- Tra genes
- Insertion sequences
- oriV
What is important of the key area of the F’ oriT?
oriT is the origin of transfer, this is wren the F’ is nicked in order to start rolling replication
What is important of the key areas of the F’ Tra genes?
Tra genes include traA, traY, and traI.
- traA; pillin protein , which makes the sex plus for conjugation
- traY; nicks that initiates the rolling circle
- traI; helicase
What is important of the key areas of the F’ insertion sequences
These sequences encode for proteins specific for insertion into the host chromosome.
- IS2
- IS3
What is important of the key area of the F’ oriV?
oriV is the origin for double stranded, normal DNA replication
How does Bacterial Conjugation occur?
- F+ male will produce a pili and search for a female cell. Conjugation is then initiated when the pilus binds to the OmpA
receptor. They are then stabilized by the actions traN and traG gene and the plus retracts thus brining the other cell into closer proximity establishing a membrane enclosed channel between donor and the recipient.
What does not allow for the male F+ cell to mate with other F+ cells?
Because of the presence of TraT and TraS proteins.
TraT; causes an abundance of outer membrane proteins that causes surface exclusion.
TraS; is an inner membrane protein that presents the DNA exchange.
How do we create an F’ strain?
A Hfr (High frequency of recombination) stain occurs when the F’ factor becomes integrated into the E. coli host chromosome, due to the presence of the insertion sequences.
How does the insertion sequence allow for the creation of F strains
The insertion sequences allow the factor to line up with the same sequence on the host chromosome, and, via homologous recombination, integrate itself into the genome.
If the factor now undergoes rolling-circle replication, it will carry along with it some fragment of the host genome. In conjugation, this allows fairly long stretches of DNA to be recombined into the acceptor cell’s genome.
How are we able to create Hfr strains?
The F plasmid can integrate into the chromosome directed by transposon homology, by transferring the chromosome starting from the origin to its near by proteins. Crating a Hfr strain. This transfer continues until it is interrupted.
What is Transformation?
Transformation is the direct uptake of naked DNA by the cell from the environment.