Fig. 8.

Competence and lysis in cultures of S. mutans. The alternate sigma factor ComX is induced by ComE and is responsible for induction of the CSP-dependent competence regulon. A PcomX–gfp reporter fusion was used to monitor the development of competence in the presence of 2 μM sCSP

(A). Cultures were then counter-stained with propidium iodide (B) to determine cell death. When images were merged (C), it was apparent that cells expressing comX were also undergoing cell lysis.