Transformation is a process in which bacteria take up new DNA released by dead cells and integrate it into their own genomes. In Streptococcus pneumoniae (which causes many cases of pneumonia, inner-ear infections, and meningitis), the ability to carry out transformation requires from 105 to 124 genes, collectively termed the com regulon. The com regulon is activated in response to a protein called competence-stimulating peptide (CSP), which is produced by the bacteria and exported into the surrounding medium. When enough CSP accumulates, it attaches to a receptor on the bacterial cell membrane, which then activates a regulator protein that stimulates the transcription of genes within the com regulon and sets in motion a series of reactions that ultimately result in transformation. Does the com regulon in Streptococcus pneumoniae exhibit positive or negative control? Explain your answer
Genetic Recombination
Recombination is crucial to this process because it allows genes to be reassorted into diverse combinations. Genetic recombination is the process of combining genetic components from two different origins into a single unit. In prokaryotes, genetic recombination takes place by the unilateral transfer of deoxyribonucleic acid. It includes transduction, transformation, and conjugation. The genetic exchange occurring between homologous deoxyribonucleic acid sequences (DNA) from two different sources is termed general recombination. For this to happen, an identical sequence of the two recombining molecules is required. The process of genetic exchange which occurs in eukaryotes during sexual reproduction such as meiosis is an example of this type of genetic recombination.
Microbial Genetics
Genes are the functional units of heredity. They transfer characteristic information from parents to the offspring.
Transformation is a process in which bacteria take up new DNA
released by dead cells and integrate it into their own genomes. In Streptococcus pneumoniae (which causes many
cases of pneumonia, inner-ear infections, and meningitis), the ability to
carry out transformation requires from 105 to 124 genes, collectively
termed the com regulon. The com regulon is activated in response to a
protein called competence-stimulating peptide (CSP), which is produced
by the bacteria and exported into the surrounding medium. When
enough CSP accumulates, it attaches to a receptor on the bacterial cell
membrane, which then activates a regulator protein that stimulates the
transcription of genes within the com regulon and sets in motion a series
of reactions that ultimately result in transformation. Does the com
regulon in Streptococcus pneumoniae exhibit positive or negative
control? Explain your answer
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