They can parasitize a conjugative plasmid, transferring at high frequency only in its presence.

Most conjugative plasmids have systems ensuring that the recipient cell does not already contain a similar element.

The basic conjugative plasmid is the F-plasmid, or F-factor.

TEs contain many type of genes- including those conferring antibiotic resistance and ability to transpose to conjugative plasmid.

A donor strain, Carrying a mobilizable plasmid that can utilize the transfer functions of the conjugative plasmid.

When conjugation is initiated by a signal the relaxase enzyme creates a nick in one of the strands of the conjugative plasmid at the oriT.

The F-plasmid belongs to a class of conjugative plasmids that control sexual functions of bacteria with a fertility inhibition (Fin) system.

Non-conjugative plasmids are incapable of initiating conjugation, hence they can be transferred only with the assistance of conjugative plasmids.

Conjugative plasmids contain tra genes, which perform the complex process of conjugation, the transfer of plasmids to another bacterium (Fig. 4).

A helper strain, Carrying a conjugative plasmid (such as the F-plasmid) that codes for genes required for conjugation and DNA transfer.

For instance, if the conjugative plasmid and the mobilizable plasmid are members of the same incompatibility group they do not need to stably coexist in the second bacterial strain for the mobilizable plasmid to be transferred.

Triparental mating is a form of Bacterial conjugation where a conjugative plasmid present in one bacterial strain assists the transfer of a mobilizable plasmid present in a second bacterial strain into a third bacterial strain.

The reason that bacterial conjugation is not the same as sexual reproduction is that the numerous genes necessary for conjugation are not located on the bacterial chromosome, but on small circular DNA self-replicating parasitic elements called conjugative plasmids.