Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Transduction is the bacteriophage-mediated transfer of bacterial DNA from a donor cell to a recipient cell.
During generalized transduction, the phage head can accidentally package random fragments of the host bacterial chromosome instead of viral DNA.
The fate of this transferred DNA inside the recipient cell determines whether the transduction is complete or abortive.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let us analyze the molecular mechanism of transduction.
In complete generalized transduction, the transferred linear donor DNA fragment aligns with the homologous region of the recipient chromosome and integrates stably via double crossover recombination.
However, in abortive transduction, the transferred donor DNA fragment fails to integrate into the host chromosome.
Because the linear fragment lacks a bacterial origin of replication, it cannot be replicated during cell division.
Despite this, the unintegrated DNA remains stable and biochemically active, allowing its genes to be transcribed and translated.
When the host cell divides, the non-replicating donor DNA is inherited by only one of the two daughter cells.
The other daughter cell receives the proteins synthesized from that DNA, but not the DNA itself, resulting in a pedigree where only one cell lineage retains the functional donor gene.
Since this phenomenon occurs during the packaging and transfer of random chromosomal fragments, it is classified as a specific outcome of generalized transduction.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Abortive transduction is an example of generalized transduction.
This corresponds to Option (A).