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Uptake of environmental DNA in Bacillus subtilis occurs all over the cell surface through a dynamic pilus structure
At the transition to stationary phase, a subpopulation of Bacillus subtilis cells can enter the developmental state of competence, where DNA is taken up through the cell envelope, and is processed to single stranded DNA, which is incorporated into the genome if sufficient homology between sequenc...
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| Prif Awduron: | , , , |
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| Fformat: | Erthygl |
| Iaith: | Saesneg |
| Cyhoeddwyd: |
Philipps-Universität Marburg
2023
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| Crynodeb: | At the transition to stationary phase, a subpopulation of Bacillus subtilis cells can enter the
developmental state of competence, where DNA is taken up through the cell envelope, and
is processed to single stranded DNA, which is incorporated into the genome if sufficient
homology between sequences exists. We show here that the initial step of transport across
the cell wall occurs via a true pilus structure, with an average length of about 500 nm, which
assembles at various places on the cell surface. Once assembled, the pilus remains at one
position and can be retracted in a time frame of seconds. The major pilin, ComGC, was studied
at a single molecule level in live cells. ComGC was found in two distinct populations, one
that would correspond to ComGC freely diffusing throughout the cell membrane, and one
that is relatively stationary, likely reflecting pilus-incorporated molecules. The ratio of 65%
diffusing and 35% stationary ComGC molecules changed towards more stationary molecules
upon addition of external DNA, while the number of pili in the population did not
strongly increase. These findings suggest that the pilus assembles stochastically, but
engages more pilin monomers from the membrane fraction in the presence of transport substrate.
Our data support a model in which transport of environmental DNA occurs through
the entire cell surface by a dynamic pilus, mediating efficient uptake through the cell wall
into the periplasm, where DNA diffuses to a cell pole containing the localized transport
machinery mediating passage into the cytosol. |
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| Disgrifiad o'r Eitem: | Gefördert durch den Open-Access-Publikationsfonds der UB Marburg. |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010696 |