Transduction is the process by which
DNA is transferred from one
bacterium to another by a
virus. It also refers to the process whereby foreign DNA is introduced into another cell via a
viral vector. Transduction does not require physical contact between the cell donating the DNA and the cell receiving the DNA (which occurs in conjugation), and it is DNase resistant (
transformation is susceptible to DNase). Transduction is a common tool used by molecular biologists to stably introduce a foreign gene into a host cell's
genome.