Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
Department of Molecular Cell Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
mBio. 2024 Jan 16;15(1):e0285723. doi: 10.1128/mbio.02857-23. Epub 2023 Dec 5.
Bacteria are constantly exchanging DNA, which constitutes horizontal gene transfer. While some of these occurs by a non-specific process called natural transformation, some occurs by a specific mating between a donor and a recipient cell. In specific conjugation, the mating pilus is extended from the donor cell to make contact with the recipient cell, but whether DNA is actually transferred through this pilus or by another mechanism involving the type IV secretion system complex without the pilus has been an open question. Using , we show that DNA can be transferred through this pilus between a donor and a recipient cell that has not established a tight mating junction, providing a new picture for the role of this pilus.
细菌不断交换 DNA，这构成了水平基因转移。虽然其中一些是通过一种称为自然转化的非特异性过程发生的，但也有一些是通过供体和受体细胞之间的特定交配发生的。在特定的接合中，交配菌毛从供体细胞伸出与受体细胞接触，但 DNA 是否实际上通过该菌毛转移，或者是否通过不涉及菌毛的 IV 型分泌系统复合物的另一种机制转移，一直是一个悬而未决的问题。利用我们的方法，我们表明 DNA 可以在没有建立紧密交配连接的供体和受体细胞之间通过该菌毛转移，为该菌毛的作用提供了新的图景。
