Antibiotics and UV radiation induce competence for natural transformation in Legionella pneumophila.

ABSTRACT: Natural transformation by competence is a major mechanism of horizontal gene transfer in bacteria. Competence is defined as the genetically programmed physiological state that enables bacteria to actively take up DNA from the environment. The conditions that signal competence development are multiple and elusive, complicating the understanding of its evolutionary significance. We used expression of the competence gene comEA as a reporter of competence development and screened several hundred molecules for their ability to induce competence in the freshwater living pathogen Legionella pneumophila. We found that comEA expression is induced by chronic exposure to genotoxic molecules such as mitomycin C and antibiotics of the fluoroquinolone family. These results indicated that, in L. pneumoph

SUBMITTER: Charpentier X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3067580 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature