4. In two isolates (one is resistant to ampicillin and the other is sensitive to ampicillin) of a new bacterium, you found that genes encoding ampicillin resistance are being transferred into the...

4. In two isolates (one is resistant to ampicillin and the
other is sensitive to ampicillin) of a new bacterium,
you found that genes encoding ampicillin resistance
are being transferred into the sensitive strain.
a. How would you know that gene transfer is taking
place?
b. To determine if the gene transfer is transformation
or transduction, you treat the mixed culture of cells
with DNase. Why would this treatment distinguish
between these two modes of gene transfer? Describe
the results predicted if the gene transfer is transformation versus transduction.
c. To determine if the gene transfer involves transformation, conjugation, or transduction, you separate
the ampicillin-resistant and ampicillin-sensitive
strains by a membrane with pores that are smaller
than the size of a bacterium, but larger than the
sizes of bacteriophage or DNA fragments. If gene
transfer is still observed, what mechanisms are
possibly involved and which are excluded?