DNA duplication-mediated activation of a two-component regulatory system serves as a bet-hedging strategy for Burkholderia thailandensis.

ABSTRACT: Burkholderia thailandensis strain E264 (BtE264) and close relatives stochastically duplicate a 208.6 kb region of chromosome I via RecA-dependent recombination between two nearly identical insertion sequence elements. Because homologous recombination occurs at a constant, low level, populations of BtE264 are always heterogeneous, but cells containing two or more copies of the region (Dup+) have an advantage, and hence predominate, during biofilm growth, while those with a single copy (Dup-) are favored during planktonic growth. Moreover, only Dup+ bacteria form 'efficient ' biofilms within 24 hours in liquid medium. We determined that duplicate copies of a subregion containing genes encoding an archaic chaperone-usher pilus (aplFABCDE) and a two-component regula

SUBMITTER: Lowrey LC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11661271 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature