A transcriptional regulator linking quorum sensing and chitin induction to render Vibrio cholerae naturally transformable.

ABSTRACT: The human pathogen Vibrio cholerae is an aquatic bacterium associated with zooplankton and their chitinous exoskeletons. On chitinous surfaces, V. cholerae initiates a developmental programme, known as natural competence, to mediate transformation, which is a mode of horizontal gene transfer. Competence facilitates the uptake of free DNA and recombination into the bacterial genome. Recent studies have indicated that chitin surfaces are required, but not sufficient to induce competence. Two additional regulatory pathways, i.e. catabolite repression and quorum sensing (QS), are components of the regulatory network that controls natural competence in V. cholerae. In this study, we investigated the link between chitin induction and QS. We show that the major regulators of these two pathways, T

SUBMITTER: Lo Scrudato M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3616704 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature