- conjugation
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—conjugational, adj. —conjugationally, adv./kon'jeuh gay"sheuhn/, n.1. Gram.a. the inflection of verbs.b. the whole set of inflected forms of a verb or the recital or display thereof in a fixed order: The conjugation of the Latin verb amo begins amo, amas, amat.c. a class of verbs having similar sets of inflected forms: the Latin second conjugation.2. an act of joining: a conjugation of related ideas.3. the state of being joined together; union; conjunction.4. Biol.a. the reproductive process in ciliate protozoans in which two organisms of different mating types exchange nuclear material through a temporary area of fusion.b. temporary union or permanent fusion as a form of sexual reproduction in certain algae and fungi, the male gametes of one organism uniting with female gametes of the other.c. a temporary union of two bacteria, in Escherichia and related groups, in which genetic material is transferred by migration of a plasmid, either solitary or as part of a chromosome, from one bacterium, the donor, to the other, the recipient; sometimes also including the transfer of resistance to antibiotics.[1400-50; late ME conjugacion ( < AF) < LL conjugation- (s. of conjugatio), equiv. to conjugat(us) (see CONJUGATE) + -ion- -ION]
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Interaction of adjacent bonds in a chemical compound having alternating single and double covalent bonds.The conjugated bonds show modified characteristics because of increased electron delocalization and sharing. Conjugation occurs, for example, within a molecule containing a chain of carbon atoms linked by alternating single and double bonds. Such a conjugated system often gives rise to substances with intense colourse.g., the biological pigments called carotenes. Another example is the carboxyl group (see carboxylic acid; functional group), in which the double bond of the carbonyl group (―C=O) is adjacent to the single bond attaching the hydroxyl group (―OH) to the carbon atom.* * *
▪ sexual processin biology, sexual process in which two lower organisms of the same species, such as bacteria, protozoans, and some algae and fungi, exchange nuclear material during a temporary union (e.g., ciliated protozoans), completely transfer one organism's contents to the other organism (bacteria and some algae), or fuse together to form one organism (most bacteria and fungi and some algae). Within a given population of organisms, the various forms that may engage in conjugation are known as mating types. The forms may or may not resemble each other in size, shape, or motility. They differ in some physiological or genetic characteristic and are distinguished by biologists through the use of symbols such as + and - or by letters of the alphabet if more than two forms occur.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
