BIO 1130 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Flatulence, Redox, Photon

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Biology
• Course: BIO 1130
• Professor: Jon Houseman

Document Summary

As mentioned previously, bacterial cells are always haploid and there is no second copy of the genes like in diploid, eukaryotes with paired homologous chromosomes. Bacteria may also contain a second piece of dna, the plasmid and when plasmids are in the cytoplasm they replicate independent of the division cycle of the bacterial cell. When the bacterial cell divides the plasmids and other cytoplasmic inclusions, including ribosomes, are partitioned randomly between the two daughter cells. The plasmid may also be incorporated in the genome of the bacterium; if this is the case the plasmid dna is replicated at the same time as the bacterial genome. During bacterial conjugation the donor cell builds the pilus (1) that attached to and pulls in the other bacterium (2). Contrary to what is often said, the exchanged strand of dna doesn"t pass down the pilus (3). Plasmids are also capable of transferring themselves between bacteria.