Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY REPORTS
Volume 10, Issue 1, Pages 23-32Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/1758-2229.12601
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Funding
- German Research Foundation (DFG) [KO4741/3-1]
- International Max Planck Research School
- Alexander von Humboldt foundation
- Volkswagen Foundation [I/85 290]
- German Research Foundation [SFB 944/2-2016, KO 3909/2-1]
- Technical University of Denmark
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The competent state is a developmentally distinct phase, in which bacteria are able to take up and integrate exogenous DNA into their genome. Bacillus subtilis is one of the naturally competent bacterial species and the domesticated laboratory strain 168 iseasily transformable. In this study, we report a reduced transformation frequency of B. subtilis mutants lacking functional and structural flagellar components. This includes hag, the gene encoding the flagellin protein forming the filament of the flagellum. We confirm that the observed decrease of the transformation frequency is due to reduced expression of competence genes, particularly of the main competence regulator gene comK. The impaired competence is due to an increase in the phosphorylated form of the response regulator DegU, which is involved in regulation of both flagellar motility and competence. Altogether, our study identified a close link between motility and natural competence in B.subtilis suggesting that hindrance in motility has great impact on differentiation of this bacterium notrestricted only to the transition towards sessile growth stage.
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