When a bacterium acquires a new trait from its temperate phage, it is called _____.

• A. transformation
• B. conjugation
• C. transduction
• D. lysogenic conversion

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the context: A temperate phage is a type of bacteriophage that can integrate its genetic material into the host bacterium's genome, entering a lysogenic cycle rather than immediately destroying the host.
2. Recall the definitions of the options: Transformation is the uptake of free DNA from the environment; conjugation is the transfer of DNA via direct cell-to-cell contact; transduction is the transfer of bacterial genes by a bacteriophage.
3. Recognize that when a bacterium acquires a new trait specifically through integration of phage DNA (from a temperate phage), this process is called lysogenic conversion.
4. Lysogenic conversion results in the bacterium expressing new traits encoded by the prophage, such as toxin production or antibiotic resistance, which can alter its phenotype.
5. Therefore, the correct term to fill in the blank is 'lysogenic conversion,' which describes the acquisition of new traits from a temperate phage.