Specialized Transduction by Temperate Bacteriophage

1. A temperate bacteriophage adsorbs to a susceptible bacterium and injects its genome.
2. The bacteriophage inserts its genome into the bacterium's nucleoid to become a prophage.
3. Occasionally during spontaneous induction, a small piece of the donor bacterium's DNA is picked up as part of the phage's genome in place of some of the phage DNA which remains in the bacterium's nucleoid.
4. As the bacteriophage replicates, the segment of bacterial DNA replicates as part of the phage's genome. Every phage now carries that segment of bacterial DNA.
5. The new bacteriophage adsorbs to a recipient bacterium and injects its genome.
6. The bacteriophage genome carrying the donor bacterial DNA inserts into the recipient bacterium's nucleoid.