Fig 2. Schematic comparing the process of mutation (a–d) to the process of conjugation (e–h).

(a) In a growing population of wild-type cells, mutants arise (highlighted purple cells) and reproduce (nonhighlighted purple cells). (b) The rate at which mutants are generated grows as the number of wild-type cells increases (i.e., μN_t). (c) The rate of transformation per wild-type cell is the mutation rate μ. (d) Wild-type cells growing in 9 separate populations where mutants arise in a portion of the populations (those with purple backgrounds) at different cell divisions. (e) In a growing population of donors and recipients, transconjugants arise (highlighted purple cells) and reproduce (nonhighlighted purple cells). (f) The rate at which transconjugants are generated grows as the numbers of donors and recipients increase (i.e., γ_DD_tR_t). (g) The rate of transformation per recipient cell grows as the number of donors increases (i.e., γ_DD_t), where γ_D is the constant conjugation rate parameter. (h) Donor and recipient cells growing in 9 separate populations where transconjugants arise in a portion of the populations (purple backgrounds) at different points in time. For all panels, this is a conceptual figure, and the rates are inflated for illustration purposes.