Summary
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Species are conventionally defined as groups of individuals that breed with each other and produce fertile offspring, but not with those of other species (according to Ernst Mayr's Biological Species Concept). However, it is difficult to apply this eukaryotic definition of species to microbes because, even if they reproduce clonally, DNA may be acquired between strains and between species. Genetic recombination allows a bacterial cell to acquire novel traits through incorporation of DNA fragments from other organisms into its own genome. Recombination influences a myr
