Bacterial conjugation, cutaway artwork. Conjugation is the process by which genetic material is transferred from one bacterium to another. Here the donor bacterium (left) is forming a pilus (hair-like strucure), which will attach to the recipient cell (right). The circular molecule of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid, bottom), known as a plasmid, will be passed through the pilus and incorporated into the recipient bacterium's genome. Plasmids often carry genes that confer advantages, such as antibiotic resistance or the ability to use a new metabolite.