ArticleJournal of bacteriology2006
Escherichia coli competence gene homologs are essential for competitive fitness and the use of DNA as a nutrient.
Article in Journal of bacteriology, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 76 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
76 citing papers in PubMed, 134 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative analysis of gene importance inmSystems · 2026Article
- DNA-utilization loci enable exogenous DNA metabolism in gut Bacteroidales.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Nonlinear regulatory dynamics of bacterial restriction-modification systems modulates horizontal gene transfer susceptibility.Nucleic acids research · 2025Article
- Cell size and selection for stress-induced cell fusion in unicellular eukaryotes.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- Molecular mechanisms and applications of natural transformation in bacteria.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Review
- Nucleic acid-binding KH domain proteins influence a spectrum of biological pathways including as part of membrane-localized complexes.Journal of structural biology: X · 2024Article
- Nitrogen assimilation bymBio · 2024Article
- Unresolved mystery of cyclic nucleotide second messengers, periplasmic acid phosphatases and bacterial natural competence.Microbial cell (Graz, Austria) · 2024Article
- Microbial gene expression in Guaymas Basin subsurface sediments responds to hydrothermal stress and energy limitation.The ISME journal · 2023Article
- The stationary phase-specific sRNA FimR2 is a multifunctional regulator of bacterial motility, biofilm formation and virulence.Nucleic acids research · 2022Article
- The Origin, Function, Distribution, Quantification, and Research Advances of Extracellular DNA.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Identification of Key Genes during CaApplied and environmental microbiology · 2022Article
- The induction of natural competence adapts staphylococcal metabolism to infection.Nature communications · 2022Article
- Article
- Nutrient supplementation experiments with saltern microbial communities implicate utilization of DNA as a source of phosphorus.The ISME journal · 2021Article
- Responsive core-shell DNA particles trigger lipid-membrane disruption and bacteria entrapment.Nature communications · 2021Article
- A comprehensive review of m6A/m6Am RNA methyltransferase structures.Nucleic acids research · 2021Review
- Hybridisation capture allows DNA damage analysis of ancient marine eukaryotes.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Genomic Characterization of a Novel Tenericutes Bacterium from Deep-Sea Holothurian Intestine.Microorganisms · 2020Article
- If you eat it, or secrete it, they will grow: the expanding list of nutrients utilized by human gut bacteria.Journal of bacteriology · 2020Review
16 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Natural genetic competence is the ability of cells to take up extracellular DNA and is an important mechanism for horizontal gene transfer. Another potential benefit of natural competence is that exogenous DNA can serve as a nutrient source for starving bacteria because the ability to "eat" DNA is necessary for competitive survival in environments containing limited nutrients. We show here that eight Escherichia coli genes, identified as homologs of com genes in Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, are necessary for the use of extracellular DNA as the sole source of carbon and energy. These genes also confer a competitive advantage to E. coli during long-term stationary-phase incubation. We also show that homologs of these genes are found throughout the proteobacteria, suggesting that the use of DNA as a nutrient may be a widespread phenomenon.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.