Transposons and plasmid transfer we

Transposons and plasmid transfer were responsible for transferring resistance genes from soil bacteria to pathogens. Such transfers must have occurred repeatedly in the part, but until the selective conditions favored antibiotic resistance, the plasmids did not persist. Other genes involved in pathogenesis also appear to have been transferred to pathogens from other organisms. Thus, bacterial genetic exchange enables acquisition of novel abilities on a time scale that is very rapid in evolutionary terms