title: Diverse regulatory circuits for transfer of conjugative elements.
abstract: Conjugation systems are present on many plasmids as well as on chromosomally integrated elements. Conjugation, which is a major route by which bacteria exchange genetic material, is a complex and energy-consuming process. Hence, a shared feature of conjugation systems is that expression of the genes involved is strictly controlled in such a way that conjugation is kept in a default 'OFF' state and that the process is switched on only under conditions that favor the transfer of the conjugative element into a recipient cell. However, there is a remarkable diversity in the way by which conjugation genes present on different transferable elements are regulated. Here, we review these diverse regulatory circuits on the basis of several prototypes with a special focus on the recently discovered regulation of the conjugation genes present on the native Bacillus subtilis plasmid pLS20.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (CSIC-UAM), Instituto de Biología Molecular "Eladio Viñuela" (CSIC), C. Nicolás Cabrera 1, Universidad Autónoma, Canto Blanco, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Praveen K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Wilfried J J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Meijer
mesh_terms: D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics*; D003227:Conjugation, Genetic; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D020071:Interspersed Repetitive Sequences
keywords: horizontal gene transfer; mobile genetic elements; quorum sensing