PMID: 8586174Jan 1, 1995Paper

Transformation of naturally competent Streptococcus mutans with replicative and non-replicative Tn916-containing plasmids: implications for a mechanism of transposition

Developments in Biological Standardization
P W Caufield, G Shah

Abstract

Based on the observations reported here and what is known concerning transformation of naturally competent strains of S. mutans and other streptococcal species such as S. gordonii, we propose the model shown in Figure 2. The Tn916-intermediate transforms S. mutans as originally proposed for B. subtilis by Scott and coworkers [8]. It is not clear in either system (B. subtilis or S. mutans) whether the Tn916 intermediate enters the cell as ds-DNA or ss-DNA. Because it is likely that transformation of B. subtilis via formation of protoplasts involves a mechanism quite different from natural transformation in S. mutans, it would be unwise to extrapolate findings from their studies. If Tn916 enters S. mutans in a manner similar to plasmid or chromosomal DNA, we would assume that Tn916 binds to a cell receptor and as one strand enters, the other is degraded [9]. This leaves open the question of whether Tn916 recircularizes as ds-DNA before it inserts into the chromosome or whether it remains as ss-DNA, if, indeed, it enters as ss-DNA. The transformation efficiency for the Tn916 intermediate (approximately 10(-7) precluded kinetics studies such as those performed with pAM118. Poyart-Salmeron and coworkers [11] however, described a mod...Continue Reading

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