Ankur B. Dalia

Citation: Christman ND, Dalia AB (2025) The molecular basis for DNA-binding by competence T4P is distinct in a representative Gram-positive and Gram-negative species. PLoS Pathog 21(4): e1013128. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1013128 Editor: Kimberly A. Kline, University of Geneva: Universite de Geneve, SWITZERLAND Received: February 17, 2025; Accepted: April 15, 2025; Published: April 21, 2025 Copyright: © 2025 Christman, Dalia.

Abstract Competence type IV pili (T4P) are bacterial surface appendages that facilitate DNA uptake during horizontal gene transfer by natural transformation. These dynamic structures actively extend from the cell surface, bind to DNA in the environment, and then retract to import bound DNA into the cell. Competence T4P are found in diverse Gram-negative (diderm) and Gram-positive (monoderm) bacterial species.

Abstract Natural transformation (NT) is a conserved mechanism of horizontal gene transfer in bacterial species. During this process, DNA is taken up into the cytoplasm where it can be integrated into the host genome by homologous recombination. We have previously shown that some cytoplasmic exonucleases can inhibit NT by degrading ingested DNA prior to its successful recombination. Here, however, we demonstrate that the exonuclease SbcB counterintuitively promotes NT in Vibrio cholerae.