When do bacteria reproduce sexually

Reproduction through endospore formation: Endospores in a bacterial cell are formed during stressful conditions such as desiccation and starvation. They contain a central protoplast, and a core consisting of DNA, ribosomes, enzymes and the t-RNA, everything necessary for the formation of a new cell.

Only one endospore is formed in one bacterial cell and on germination, it gives rise to a new bacterial cell. The phenomenon was first discovered by Griffith in and the mechanism was worked out by Avery in In this process, the DNA of a capsulated bacteria is transferred into a non-capsulated bacteria. If the DNA is circular it is called a plasmid. The plasmid can be copied in the receiving cell and passed on to its descendants. Transduction: In this type of sexual reproduction of bacteria, foreign genes are transferred into a bacterial cell with the help of a virus.

These viruses are called bacteriophage and they are not virulent. The virus acts as a carrier vehicle and passes over genes from one host to another. Transducing bacteriophages may carry the same genes in which the reproduction method would be known as restricted transduction.

They can also carry different genes at different times in which the reproduction process would be known as generalised transduction. Conjugation: This process was first discovered in Escherichia coli by Tatum and Lederberg in They found that two different types of nutritional mutants grown together on minimal medium produced an occasional wild type.

The male or donor cell possesses 1 to 4 sex pili on the surface and fertility factor transfer factor, sex factor in its plasmid. It contains genes for producing sex pili and other characters needed for gene transfer. Sex pili are 1to 4 narrow protoplasmic outgrowths. The detail was great.

The videos were useful and I felt it gave me a good introduction and foothold on the subject of microbiology. This introductory level course was a great refresher for me. Thank you to Dr. Glyn Barrett and all the other professors at the University of Reading who have been a part of this course. It was a good introduction in to microbiology and gave a taste of the level of content you may study as university level.

This course was a really great introduction into the field of microbiology. The information was all interesting and up to date. In addition, the small quizzes in the course aided in building up the knowledge of the subject. The level of the course is great fir beginners and the contents was wwll put together. I have learned quite a lot from this course as someone who is new to microbiology.

This is an excellent introduction for those who have some previous knowledge about biology but would like to know more about the curious world of microbes. The course consists of articles to read, interviews with researchers and students, quizzes, videos of lab work and some experiments you can do at home. I miss a more thorough walk-through of ho An excellent introduction to mircrobiology w to classify microbes, but I guess that would require a more advanced course.

All in all, a very good course. Category: FutureLearn Local. Category: FutureLearn Local , Learning. We offer a diverse selection of courses from leading universities and cultural institutions from around the world.

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Build your knowledge with top universities and organisations. Learn more about how FutureLearn is transforming access to education. Learn more about this course. How Do Microbes Grow and Replicate? Microbes have the ability to replicate rapidly. Eukaryote microbes can either reproduce sexually or asexually.

Or both. An example of this is the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. During sexual reproduction, a male and a hermaphrodite lay next to each other. The male introduces sperm and fertilises the eggs of the hermaphrodite. But the hermaphrodite can also fertilise itself. Despite the ease of this asexual self-fertilisation, the hermaphrodite still prefers to be fertilised by a different male.

This produces more offspring and more genetic variation in progeny. Many fungi can also reproduce sexually and asexually. Fungi often reproduce using spores — a type of seeds that can be spread by wind or rain.

If a spore lands in a good place, a new fungus grows. Some fungi use special structures to spread spores, like mushrooms. Fungi from the genus Pilobolus use a very special method to spread their spores.