The Journal of Heredity 1993:84(5):400-404
© 1993 The American Genetic Association 84:400-404
other |
Genes for Breakfast: The Have-Your-Cake and-Eat-lt-Too of Bacterial Transformation
Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada
Abstract
Bacterial transformation, in which cells take up and recombine free strands of DNA, is the simplest process thought to have evolved for genetic exchange, i.e., because of the potential benefits of producing progeny with recombinant genotypes. However, two other functions are equally plausible: acquisition of intact DNA strands to use for recombinational repair of DNA damage, and acquisition of the nutrients contained in DNA molecules. Although the recombinant progeny produced by transformation can be beneficial, the success of genes causing transformation is limited by other factors, especially by the genetic quality of DNA derived from dead cells. Our recent experiments in the naturally transformable bacteria Haemophilus influenzae and Bacillus subtilis suggest that the DNA-repair hypothesis is unlikely to be correct. In H. influenzae, transformation does not detectably increase the cells' ability to survive DNA damage. More importantly, we have found that, although competence(the ability to take up DNA) is induced by nutritional limitation in both H. influenzae and B. subtilis, it is not induced by DNA damage in either. Thus we favor the hypothesis that transformation evolved as a nutrient-uptake system, especially because unrelated DNA is abundant in the environments of many naturally transformable bacteria.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  J. L. Ray, K. Harms, O.-G. Wikmark, I. Starikova, P. J. Johnsen, and K. M. Nielsen Sexual Isolation in Acinetobacter baylyi Is Locus-Specific and Varies 10,000-Fold Over the Genome Genetics, August 1, 2009; 182(4): 1165 - 1181. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. J. Johnsen, D. Dubnau, and B. R. Levin Episodic Selection and the Maintenance of Competence and Natural Transformation in Bacillus subtilis Genetics, April 1, 2009; 181(4): 1521 - 1533. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. E. Kowalko and M. E. Sebert The Streptococcus pneumoniae Competence Regulatory System Influences Respiratory Tract Colonization Infect. Immun., July 1, 2008; 76(7): 3131 - 3140. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. Hadany and S. P. Otto The Evolution of Condition-Dependent Sex in the Face of High Costs Genetics, July 1, 2007; 176(3): 1713 - 1727. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. T. Lennon Diversity and Metabolism of Marine Bacteria Cultivated on Dissolved DNA Appl. Envir. Microbiol., May 1, 2007; 73(9): 2799 - 2805. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. D. S. Cameron and R. J. Redfield Non-canonical CRP sites control competence regulons in Escherichia coli and many other {gamma}-proteobacteria Nucleic Acids Res., November 6, 2006; 34(20): 6001 - 6014. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 V. Palchevskiy and S. E. Finkel Escherichia coli Competence Gene Homologs Are Essential for Competitive Fitness and the Use of DNA as a Nutrient J. Bacteriol., June 1, 2006; 188(11): 3902 - 3910. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 I. Chen, P. J. Christie, and D. Dubnau The Ins and Outs of DNA Transfer in Bacteria Science, December 2, 2005; 310(5753): 1456 - 1460. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Bakkali, T.-Y. Chen, H. C. Lee, and R. J. Redfield Evolutionary stability of DNA uptake signal sequences in the Pasteurellaceae PNAS, March 30, 2004; 101(13): 4513 - 4518. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. Hadany and T. Beker On the Evolutionary Advantage of Fitness-Associated Recombination Genetics, December 1, 2003; 165(4): 2167 - 2179. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. E. Finkel and R. Kolter DNA as a Nutrient: Novel Role for Bacterial Competence Gene Homologs J. Bacteriol., November 1, 2001; 183(21): 6288 - 6293. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. J. Spiers, A. Buckling, and P. B. Rainey The causes of Pseudomonas diversity Microbiology, October 1, 2000; 146(10): 2345 - 2350. [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. R. Levin and C. T. Bergstrom Bacteria are different: Observations, interpretations, speculations, and opinions about the mechanisms of adaptive evolution in prokaryotes PNAS, June 20, 2000; 97(13): 6981 - 6985. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Hey Selfish Genes, Pleiotropy and the Origin of Recombination Genetics, August 1, 1998; 149(4): 2089 - 2097. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|