What term describes the transfer of genetic material between different species, common in bacteria?

The transfer of genetic material between different species is called horizontal gene transfer.

Unlike vertical inheritance, in which DNA passes from parent to offspring, horizontal gene transfer moves genes between organisms outside ordinary reproduction. It is particularly important in bacteria, whose genomes can gain useful traits rapidly instead of waiting for mutations to accumulate over many generations.

Bacteria use several routes for this exchange. In transformation, a cell takes up free DNA from its surroundings. In transduction, a bacteriophage carries bacterial DNA from one cell to another. In conjugation, cells make contact and transfer DNA, often through a plasmid. These mechanisms can move genes within or across bacterial species.

Horizontal gene transfer is a major reason antibiotic resistance can spread quickly. A plasmid carrying resistance genes may pass between bacterial cells, allowing a recipient to withstand a drug it previously could not. Recombination can help incorporate transferred DNA, but it is not the name of the overall process. Gene duplication and vertical gene transfer describe different evolutionary routes.