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. 1972 Apr;110(1):266–272. doi: 10.1128/jb.110.1.266-272.1972

Number of Deoxyribonucleic Acid Uptake Sites in Competent Cells of Bacillus subtilis

R N Singh 1
PMCID: PMC247407  PMID: 4622899

Abstract

Two direct methods are presented for estimating the average number of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) uptake sites in competent cells of Bacillus subtilis from measurement of 14C- or 3H-thymine-labeled DNA uptake by competent culture. Advantage is taken of two facts: (i) effective contact between competent cells and transforming DNA molecules is established within a short time after mixing them together, and (ii) DNA molecules enter the competent B. subtilis cells in a linear fashion at a finite speed. From the number of DNA molecules initially attached to competent cells by brief exposure to transforming DNA in the first method or from the rate of DNA uptake by competent culture in the second method, the average number of DNA uptake sites is calculated to be 20 to 53 per competent cell.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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