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. 1971 Jun;106(3):868–875. doi: 10.1128/jb.106.3.868-875.1971

Mode of Action of the Competence-Inducing Factor of Bacillus stearothermophilus1

Uldis N Streips a,2, Frank E Young a,2
PMCID: PMC248712  PMID: 4934067

Abstract

Development of competence in the noncompetent mutant of Bacillus stearothermophilus 4S requires a soluble competence-inducing factor (CF). This study describes several observations that define the mechanism of action of this factor. (i) CF interacts with cells, protoplasts, or cytoplasmic membranes in a temperature-dependent reaction; incubation of CF with cells alters the sedimentation properties of the cells. (ii) Association between CF and the cytoplasmic membrane appears to be the first and rate-limiting step in the process of transfection with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from bacteriophage TP-IC. (iii) The membrane-CF complex is capable of removing infectious DNA from the supernatant fraction in vitro. (iv) Twenty phage-resistant mutants are unable to undergo the above reactions. A model is developed in which CF serves as a dynamic mediator of the reaction between the transfecting DNA and the cell surface.

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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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