Final answer:
The process in which genetic information is transferred from one bacterium to another using a phage is known as transduction, which can be generalized or specialized depending on the phage's life cycle phase.
Step-by-step explanation:
The transfer of genetic information from one bacterium to another by a phage is known as transduction. There are two types of transduction: generalized transduction and specialized transduction. During the lytic cycle, phages can mistakenly package a piece of the bacterial host's DNA into a new phage, which can then transfer this DNA to another bacterium upon infection. Specialized transduction occurs at the end of the lysogenic cycle when a prophage is excised incorrectly and bacterial DNA adjacent to the prophage site in the host genome is packaged with the phage DNA. This DNA is then injected into a new host, potentially recombining with the new host's genome.
Transduction is the name for the transfer of genetic information from one bacterium to another bacterium by a phage. During transduction, a bacteriophage injects DNA that contains a small fragment of DNA from a different bacterium into the recipient bacterial cell. This transfer of DNA allows for genetic recombination and can result in the acquisition of new genes by the recipient bacterium