ArticleApplied and environmental microbiology2012
Fratricide is essential for efficient gene transfer between pneumococci in biofilms.
Article in Applied and environmental microbiology, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 51 papers.
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Who cites it
51 citing papers in PubMed, 86 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
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- Rethinking Microbial Chemical Ecology: Secondary Metabolites as Concentration-Dependent Signaling Hubs with Implications for Anti-Virulence Intervention.Microorganisms · 2026Review
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- Review
- LytF contributes to pilus extrusion during natural competence inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Label-free microscopy enables high-throughput identification of genes controlling biofilm development.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Structure, Function, and Regulation of LytA: TheMicroorganisms · 2025Review
- Molecular and structural basis of oligopeptide recognition by the Ami transporter system in pneumococci.PLoS pathogens · 2024Article
- Investigation of choline-binding protein of CbpD in the pathogenesis ofFrontiers in veterinary science · 2024Article
- Transcriptional regulation of TacL-mediated lipoteichoic acids biosynthesis by ComE during competence impacts pneumococcal transformation.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2024Article
- Horizontal Gene Transfer of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Biofilms.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Comment on: "Prevalence, Antibiotic Susceptibility Profile and Associated Factors of Group A Streptococcal Pharyngitis Among Pediatric Patients with Acute Pharyngitis in Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia" [Letter].Infection and drug resistance · 2023Article
- Mechanism of Action of Ribosomally Synthesized and Post-Translationally Modified Peptides.Chemical reviews · 2022Review
- Death happy: adaptive ageing and its evolution by kin selection in organisms with colonial ecology.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Article
- Intra-Species Interactions inFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2021Article
- Competence-Stimulating-Peptide-Dependent Localized Cell Death and Extracellular DNA Production in Streptococcus mutans Biofilms.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2020Article
- Contact-Dependent Growth Inhibition in Bacteria: Do Not Get Too Close!International journal of molecular sciences · 2020Review
- Article
- Harnessing the Potential of Killers and Altruists within the Microbial Community: A Possible Alternative to Antibiotic Therapy?Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019Review
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Streptococcus pneumoniae and a number of commensal streptococcal species are competent for natural genetic transformation. The natural habitat of these bacteria is multispecies biofilms in the human oral cavity and nasopharynx. Studies investigating lateral transfer of virulence and antibiotic resistance determinants among streptococci have shown that interspecies as well as intraspecies gene exchange takes place in these environments. We have previously shown that the action of a competence-specific murein hydrolase termed CbpD strongly increases the rate of gene transfer between pneumococci grown in liquid cultures. CbpD is the key component of a bacteriolytic mechanism termed the fratricide mechanism. It is secreted by competent pneumococci and mediates the release of donor DNA from sensitive streptococci present in the same environment. However, in nature, gene exchange between streptococci takes place in biofilms and not in liquid cultures. In the present study, we therefore investigated whether CbpD affects the rate of gene transfer in laboratory-grown biofilms. Our results show that the fratricide mechanism has a strong positive impact on intrabiofilm gene exchange, indicating that it is important for active acquisition of homologous donor DNA under natural conditions. Furthermore, we found that competent biofilm cells of S. pneumoniae acquire a Nov(r) marker much more efficiently from neighboring cells than from the growth medium. Efficient lysis of target cells requires that CbpD act in conjunction with the murein hydrolase LytC. In contrast, the major autolysin LytA does not seem to be important for fratricide-mediated gene exchange in a biofilm environment.
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