Transduction

In transduction, a bacteriophage that has packaged a head-full of donor DNA then injects that DNA into the recipient.

Prevalence and Evolution of Core Photosystem II Genes in Marine Cyanobacterial Viruses and Their Hosts.
The movement of genes between organisms is an important mechanism in evolution. As agents of gene transfer, phages play a role in host evolution by supplying the host with new genetic material [1115] and by displacing “host” genes with viral-encoded homologues [1618]. Phage evolution is in turn influenced by the acquisition of DNA from their hosts [13,1922] and by the swapping of genes within the phage gene pool [23,24]. Recent evidence suggests that gene flow within the global phage gene pool extends across ecosystems [2527].
Cyanophage genomes bearing key photosynthesis genes psbA and psbD provide a notable example of the co-option of “host” genes for phage purposes [13,22,2830]. The psbA and psbD genes encode the two photosystem II core reaction center proteins, D1 and D2 (denoted here as PsbA and PsbD, respectively), found in all oxygenic photosynthetic organisms. It has recently been shown that the phage-encoded psbA gene is expressed during infection [31,32]. Because maximal cyanophage production is dependent on photosynthesis [31,33], and the host PsbA protein turns over rapidly [34] and declines during infection [31], expression of these phage-encoded genes likely enhances photosynthesis during infection, thus increasing cyanophage fitness.
Matthew B. Sullivan, Debbie Lindell, Jessica A. Lee, Luke R. Thompson, Joseph P. Bielawski, Sallie W. Chisholm Prevalence and Evolution of Core Photosystem II Genes in Marine Cyanobacterial Viruses and Their Hosts. PLoS Biology Volume 4 Issue 8 AUGUST 2006
Volume 4 Issue 8 AUGUST 2006

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