![]() ![]() ![]() This is an important avenue of horizontal gene transfer (HGT), which has widespread consequences for bacterial evolution and the spread of antibiotic resistance and other pathogenicity traits. Our results suggest that FimT plays an important role in DNA uptake in a wide range of competent species.Ĭompetent bacteria can take up exogenous DNA, present in their environment, and integrate it into their genomes by the process of natural transformation. FimT orthologues from other Gammaproteobacteria share the ability to bind to DNA. FimT binds to DNA via an electropositive patch, rich in arginines, several of which are well-conserved and located in a conformationally flexible C-terminal tail. We use NMR spectroscopy, in vitro DNA binding assays and in vivo transformation assays to understand the molecular basis of FimT’s role in this process. Here, we show that the minor pilin FimT plays an important role in the natural transformation of Legionella pneumophila. These proteinaceous cell-surface structures are composed of thousands of pilus subunits (pilins), designated as major or minor according to their relative abundance in the pilus. Most competent bacterial species utilise type IV pili for the initial DNA uptake step. If this DNA is integrated into the bacterial genome, the bacterium is said to be naturally transformed. Naturally competent bacteria encode sophisticated protein machinery for the uptake and translocation of exogenous DNA into the cell. ![]()
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