Abstract
Natural competence enables bacteria to take up exogenous DNA. The evolutionary function of natural competence remains controversial, as imported DNA can act as a source of substrates or can be integrated into the genome. Exogenous homologous DNA can also be used for genome repair. In this Opinion article, we propose that predation of non-related neighbouring bacteria coupled with competence regulation might function as an active strategy for DNA acquisition. Competence-dependent kin-discriminated killing has been observed in the unrelated bacteria Vibrio cholerae and Streptococcus pneumoniae. Importantly, both the regulatory networks and the mode of action of neighbour predation differ between these organisms, with V. cholerae using a type VI secretion system and S. pneumoniae secreting bacteriocins. We argue that the forced release of DNA from killed bacteria and the transfer of non-clonal genetic material have important roles in bacterial evolution.
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Change history
14 July 2017
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Acknowledgements
The authors apologize to those researchers whose work was not cited in this Opinion article owing to space limitations and the primary focus on the link between competence induction and kin-discriminated neighbour predation. Work in the Veening laboratory is supported by the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Young Investigator Program, a VIDI fellowship (grant 864.12.001) from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, Earth and Life Sciences (NWO-ALW), and European Research Council Starting Grant 337399-PneumoCell. Work in the Blokesch laboratory is funded by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant 31003A_162551 and NRP72 program grant 407240_167061) and the European Research Council (ERC; starting grant 309064-VIR4ENV).
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Veening, JW., Blokesch, M. Interbacterial predation as a strategy for DNA acquisition in naturally competent bacteria. Nat Rev Microbiol 15, 621–629 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro.2017.66
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro.2017.66
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