Transformation (uptake of naked DNA)

Definition

Transformation is a process where a bacterial cell takes up and incorporates foreign DNA from its surroundings into its own genetic material.

Analogy

Think of transformation like picking up a recipe card off the floor and adding it to your cookbook. The recipe card is the foreign DNA, and your cookbook is the bacterium's genetic material. Now you can make that new dish because you've incorporated the instructions into your collection.

Related terms

Plasmid: A small, circular piece of DNA located in the cytoplasm of many bacteria that can replicate independently of the chromosomes.

Competent Cells: Bacterial cells that are able to take up naked DNA. This ability may be natural or induced by laboratory procedures.

Genetic Recombination: The process by which a strand of genetic material (usually DNA; but can also be RNA) is broken and then joined to a different DNA molecule.