Transfer of DNA between bacteria via phages.

A temperate phage inserts its genome (red) into the bacterial chromosome (blue-green) as a prophage, which replicates along with the bacterial chromosome, packaging host DNA alone (generalized transduction) or with its own DNA (specialized transduction). It then lyses the bacterial cell, releasing progeny phage particles into the surrounding environment. After lysis, these phages infect new bacterial cells, in which the acquired DNA recombines with the recipient cell chromosome (orange). This figure has been adapted from Frost et al. [2].