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Journal of Bacteriology, July 2000, p. 3673-3680, Vol. 182, No. 13
0021-9193/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

ComP, a Pilin-Like Protein Essential for Natural Competence in Acinetobacter sp. Strain BD413: Regulation, Modification, and Cellular Localization

Dirk Porstendörfer, Olivia Gohl, Frank Mayer, and Beate Averhoff*

Institut für Mikrobiologie und Genetik, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany

Received 5 January 2000/Accepted 7 April 2000

We recently identified a pilin-like competence factor, ComP, which is essential for natural transformation of the gram-negative soil bacterium Acinetobacter sp. strain BD413. Here we demonstrate that transcription and synthesis of the pilin-like competence factor ComP are maximal in the late stationary growth phase, whereas competence is induced immediately after inoculation of a stationary-phase culture into fresh medium. Western blot analyses revealed three forms of ComP, one with an apparent molecular mass of 15 kDa, which correlates with the molecular mass deduced from the DNA sequence, one 20-kDa form, which was found to be glycosylated, and one 23-kDa form. The glycosylation of ComP was not required for its function in DNA binding and uptake. The 20-kDa form was present in the cytoplasmic membrane, the periplasm, and the outer membrane, whereas the 23-kDa form was located in the outer membrane and might be due to a further modification. Immunological data suggest that ComP is not a subunit of the pilus structures. Possible functions of ComP in the DNA transformation machinery of Acinetobacter sp. strain BD413 are discussed.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institut für Mikrobiologie und Genetik, Georg-August-Universität, Grisebachstrasse 8, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany. Phone: 49-551-394041. Fax: 49-551-393793. E-mail: BAVERHO{at}gwdg.de.

Journal of Bacteriology, July 2000, p. 3673-3680, Vol. 182, No. 13
0021-9193/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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