2 public questions tagged with this topic.
Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria. They are usually double-stranded DNA viruses, and their nucleic acid is protected by a protein coat called the capsid.
Ref: NCERT Class 11 Biology Chapter 2: Biological Classification Viruses Viroids Prions and Lichens
Transduction was discovered by Zinder and Lederberg in Salmonella as gene transfer mediated by bacteriophages. During lytic cycle, phage enzymes mistakenly package host chromosomal DNA into capsid instead of phage genome, creating transducing particle. Upon infection of new cell, bacterial DNA injects and recombines. Generalized transduction packages random host fragments due to pac site errors; specialized transduction arises when prophage excises imprecisely bringing adjacent bacterial genes. Both depend on phage as vector, distinguishing transduction from naked DNA transformation or contact
Ref: Griffiths et al., Introduction to Genetic Analysis, 12th ed., Chapter 6: Transduction Mechanisms; Nature Scitable
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