Concept

Natural competence

Related publications (32)

Interactions between pili affect the outcome of bacterial competition driven by the type VI secretion system

Melanie Blokesch, Anne-Florence Raphaëlle Bitbol, Alexandre Lemopoulos, Simon Bernhard Otto, Richard Marie Servajean

The bacterial type VI secretion system (T6SS) is a widespread, kin-discriminatory weapon capable of shaping microbial communities. Due to the system’s dependency on contact, cellular interactions can lead to either competition or kin protection. Cell-to-ce ...

2024

DNA modifications impact natural transformation of Acinetobacter baumannii

Melanie Blokesch, Nicolas Jean Philippe Guex, Christian Iseli, Alexandre Lemopoulos, Nina Vesel

Acinetobacter baumannii is a dangerous nosocomial pathogen, especially due to its ability to rapidly acquire new genetic traits, including antibiotic resistance genes (ARG). In A. baumannii, natural competence for transformation, one of the primary modes o ...

2023

Interactions between pili affect the outcome of bacterial competition driven by the type VI secretion system

Melanie Blokesch, Anne-Florence Raphaëlle Bitbol, Alexandre Lemopoulos, Simon Bernhard Otto, Richard Marie Servajean

The bacterial type VI secretion system (T6SS) is a widespread, kin-discriminatory weapon capable of shaping microbial communities. Due to the system's dependency on contact, cellular interactions can lead to either competition or kin protection. Cell-to-ce ...

2023

Natural competence of the pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii: an elusive phenomenon

Nina Vesel

Natural competence for transformation is an important driver of horizontal DNA exchange between different organisms. This can result in accumulation of dangerous genetic features, such as antibiotic resistance genes, in a single organism. One example of an ...

EPFL2022

Benthic Biofilms in Glacier-Fed Streams from Scandinavia to the Himalayas Host Distinct Bacterial Communities Compared with the Streamwater

Tom Ian Battin, Hannes Markus Peter, Susheel Bhanu Busi, Grégoire Marie Octave Edouard Michoud, Leïla Ezzat, Massimo Bourquin, Matteo Tolosano, Emmy Marie Oppliger, Virginia Tadei, Tyler Joe Kohler, Jade Brandani, Stylianos Fodelianakis, Paraskevi Pramateftaki, Vincent Henri De Staercke, Michail Styllas, Martina Andrea Schön

Microbial life in glacier-fed streams (GFSs) is dominated by benthic biofilms which fulfill critical ecosystem processes. However, it remains unclear how the bacterial communities of these biofilms assemble in stream ecosystems characterized by rapid turno ...

AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY2022

Pilus production in Acinetobacter baumannii is growth phase dependent and essential for natural transformation

Melanie Blokesch, Nina Vesel

Acinetobacter baumannii is a severe threat to human health as a frequently multidrug-resistant hospital-acquired pathogen. Part of the danger from this bacterium comes from its genome plasticity and ability to evolve quickly by taking up and recombining ex ...

2021

Emergence of diauxie as an optimal growth strategy under resource allocation constraints in cellular metabolism

Vassily Hatzimanikatis, Pierre Guy Rémy Salvy

Diauxie, or the sequential consumption of carbohydrates in bacteria such as Escherichia coli, has been hypothesized to be an evolutionary strategy which allows the organism to maximize its instantaneous specific growth-giving the bacterium a competitive ad ...

NATL ACAD SCIENCES2021

Two nanomachines drive evolution in diverse Vibrio species

Noémie Matthey

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) has a major impact on bacterial evolution, leading to acquisition or deletion of genes and gene clusters, including those encoding antibiotic resistances and virulence factors. HGT therefore contributes to pathogen emergence, ...

EPFL2019

Neighbor predation linked to natural competence fosters the transfer of large genomic regions in Vibrio cholerae

Melanie Blokesch, Nicolas Jean Philippe Guex, Christian Iseli, Sandrine Stutzmann, Candice Stoudmann, Noémie Matthey

Natural competence for transformation is a primary mode of horizontal gene transfer. Competent bacteria are able to absorb free DNA from their surroundings and exchange this DNA against pieces of their own genome when sufficiently homologous. However, the ...

2019

Mechanisms of DNA Uptake by Naturally Competent Bacteria

Melanie Blokesch

Transformation is a widespread mechanism of horizontal gene transfer in bacteria. DNA uptake to the periplasmic compartment requires a DNA-uptake pilus and the DNA-binding protein ComEA. In the gram-negative bacteria, DNA is first pulled toward the outer m ...

2019

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