NucA is required for DNA cleavage during transformation of Bacillus subtilis

被引:50
作者
Provvedi, R [1 ]
Chen, I [1 ]
Dubnau, D [1 ]
机构
[1] Publ Hlth Res Inst, New York, NY 10016 USA
关键词
D O I
10.1046/j.1365-2958.2001.02406.x
中图分类号
Q5 [生物化学]; Q7 [分子生物学];
学科分类号
071010 ; 081704 ;
摘要
We have re-examined the roles of nucA and nin, in the transformation of Bacillus subtilis as conflicting accounts have been presented concerning the importance of these genes for transformation. The present report demonstrates that nucA deficiency lowers the rate of DNA transport and that NucA is needed for the double-strand cleavage of transforming DNA, probably acting directly as an endonuclease. A relative paucity of DNA termini, resulting from the absence of this endonuclease activity, most probably accounts for the decreased transport rate. NucA is a bitopic integral membrane protein, with its C-terminus external to the membrane where it is appropriately located to effect the cleavage of bound transforming DNA. We have also investigated the roles of the known competence genes in the DNA processing that accompanies transformation in B. subtilis. The genes that are required for DNA transport (comEA, comEC and comFA) are also required for the degradation of the non-transforming strand that accompanies internalization, but comEC and comFA are not needed for the double-strand cleavage that occurs external to the cell membrane.
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收藏
页码:634 / 644
页数:11
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