Comment on the evolutionary significance of conjugation?

Question

biology,cells

Answer 1

It helps the species to achieve genetic recombination, which is really having different genes. In case there is a disease or other biological factors that pose threat to the species, not all of them will die off because they have different genes, and some of them might be able to survive and reproduce.

For example, when you try to kill all the bacteria with antibiotics, most of them might die off. But few will survive due to conjugation (genetic variability), and they'll reproduce and pass on their genes to their offspring, so that a new generation of bacteria is born, and none of them "fear" antibiotics!

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Horizontal genetic transfer is probably as old as cellular life and one of the strongest forces in genetic change. All the mobile elements that participate in the horizontal transfer of genes are called mobile genetic elements (MGE). One thing they have done is prevent the DNA's code to drift.
http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jsme2/19/4/19_249/_article Viruses & bacteria where long recognized to do this.
When bacteria share plasmids HGT increases the rate of evolution by propagating favorable mutations across populations. It becomes feasible to swap whole sets of genetic code - like the genes that allow bacteria to defeat antibiotics.

"The majority of the DNA in the genomes of some animal and plant species—including humans, mice, wheat and corn—came from HGT insertions," said Michael Deem, the John W. Cox Professor in Biochemical and Genetic Engineering and professor of physics and astronomy.

Recombination is a powerful tool for evolution.