The availability of purine nucleotides regulates natural competence by controlling translation of the competence activator Sxy.

ABSTRACT: Many bacteria are naturally competent, able to bind and take up DNA from their extracellular environment. This DNA can serve as a significant source of nutrients, in addition to providing genetic material for recombination. The regulation of competence in several model organisms highlights the importance of this nutritional function, although it has often been overlooked. Natural competence is induced by starvation in Haemophilus influenzae, the model for competence regulation in the gamma-proteobacteria. This induction depends on the activation of the global metabolic regulator CRP, which occurs upon depletion of phosphotransferase sugars. In this work, we show that the depletion of purine nucleotides under competence-inducing conditions activates the CRP-dependent competence-specific reg

SUBMITTER: Sinha S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3739930 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature