Editing Mycobacterium smegmatis (section)

===Conjugation===
Conjugal DNA transfer in ''M. smegmatis'' requires stable and extended contact between a donor and a recipient strain, is DNase resistant, and the transferred DNA is incorporated into the recipient’s chromosome by homologous recombination.  However, in contrast to the well-known ''E. coli'' Hfr conjugation system, in ''M. smegmatis'' all regions of the chromosome are transferred with comparable efficiencies and mycobacterial conjugation is chromosome, rather than plasmid based.  Gray et al.<ref name="pmid23874149">{{cite journal | vauthors = Gray TA, Krywy JA, Harold J, Palumbo MJ, Derbyshire KM | title = Distributive conjugal transfer in mycobacteria generates progeny with meiotic-like genome-wide mosaicism, allowing mapping of a mating identity locus | journal = PLOS Biology | volume = 11 | issue = 7 | pages = e1001602 | date = July 2013 | pmid = 23874149 | pmc = 3706393 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001602 | doi-access = free }}</ref> reported substantial blending of the parental genomes resulting from conjugation and referred to this blending as reminiscent of that seen in the meiotic products of sexual reproduction (see [[Evolution of sexual reproduction#Origin of sexual reproduction|Origin of sexual reproduction]]).{{cn|date=April 2023}}