The conserved mosaic prophage protein paratox inhibits the natural competence regulator ComR in Streptococcus.

ABSTRACT: Horizontal gene transfer is an important means of bacterial evolution. This includes natural genetic transformation, where bacterial cells become "competent" and DNA is acquired from the extracellular environment. Natural competence in many species of Streptococcus, is regulated by quorum sensing via the ComRS receptor-signal pair. The ComR-XIP (mature ComS peptide) complex induces expression of the alternative sigma factor SigX, which targets RNA polymerase to CIN-box promoters to activate genes involved in DNA uptake and recombination. In addition, the widely distributed Streptococcus prophage gene paratox (prx) also contains a CIN-box, and here we demonstrate it to be transcriptionally activated by XIP. In vitro experiments demonstrate that Prx binds ComR directly and prevents the ComR-

SUBMITTER: Mashburn-Warren L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6224593 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature