Induction of natural competence in Streptococcus pneumoniae triggers lysis and DNA release from a subfraction of the cell population

摘要

Naturally competent bacteria have the ability to take up free DNA from the surrounding medium and incorporate this DNA into their genomes by homologous recombination. In naturally competent Streptococcus pneumoniae, and related streptococcal species from the mitis phylogenetic group, the competent state is not a constitu- tive property but is induced by a peptide pheromone through a quorum-sensing mechanism. Recent studies have shown that natural genetic transformation is an important mechanism for gene exchange between streptococci in nature.