Modeling of the ComRS Signaling Pathway Reveals the Limiting Factors Controlling Competence in Streptococcus thermophilus.

ABSTRACT: In streptococci, entry in competence is dictated by ComX abundance. In Streptococcus thermophilus, production of ComX is transient and tightly regulated during growth: it is positively regulated by the cell-cell communication system ComRS during the activation phase and negatively regulated during the shut-off phase by unidentified late competence gene(s). Interestingly, most S. thermophilus strains are not or weakly transformable in permissive growth conditions (i.e., chemically defined medium, CDM), suggesting that some players of the ComRS regulatory pathway are limiting. Here, we combined mathematical modeling and experimental approaches to identify the components of the ComRS system which are critical for both dynamics and amplitude of ComX production in S. thermophilus. We built a de

SUBMITTER: Haustenne L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4686606 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature