How can sexual reproduction affect a bacterias population?
Sexual reproduction in bacteria is called conjugation and it involves the transfer of plasmid(s) from one bacterium to another using pilli. A plasmid is a circular DNA molecule that has different kind of genes on it. The genes that a plasmid contain are not necessary for the functioning of the bacterium, but often assist in its survival. For instance, genes for antibiotic resistance are carried on plasmids. Hence, if a bacterium conjugates a plasmid with resistance to a certain antibiotic, more bacteria in the population will now be resistant to the specific antibiotic. Therefore, the chances of survival of the population grows.
