What are the similarities and differences between conjugation transduction and transformation?

The similarity is that both transduction and conjugation transformation are transfer mechanisms of genetic material between two bacteria. The difference is that in transformation the DNA is incorporated, while in transduction the DNA is transferred.

Explanation:

In transformation, the bacteria absorb DNA molecules dispersed in the medium and are incorporated into the chromatin. This DNA may come, for example, from dead bacteria. This process occurs spontaneously in nature. Scientists have used transformation as a genetic engineering technique to introduce genes of different species into bacterial cells.

In transduction, DNA molecules are transferred from one bacterium to another using viruses as vectors (bacteriophages). These, when assembled within the bacteria, may eventually include pieces of DNA from the host bacteria. By infecting another bacterium, the virus that carries the bacterial DNA transfers it along with yours. If the bacterium survives viral infection, it may include the genes of another bacterium in its genome.