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Updated: Sep 27, 2026

Engineering Adherent Bacteria by Creating a Single Synthetic Curli Operon
Published on: November 16, 2012
The Bacillus subtilis transition state regulator AbrB binds to the -35 promoter region of comK
Leendert W Hamoen1, Daisy Kausche, Mohamed A Marahiel
1Department of Genetics, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Kerklaan 30, 9751 NN, Haren, The Netherlands. leendert.hamoen@path.ox.ac.uk
Abstract:
Genetic competence is a differentiation process initiated by Bacillus subtilis as a result of nutritional deprivation, and is controlled by a complex signal transduction cascade. The promoter of comK, encoding the competence transcription factor, is regulated by at least four different transcription factors: Rok, CodY, DegU and ComK itself. Genetic data have shown that comK expression is influenced by the transition state regulator AbrB as well. In this paper we show that AbrB binds specifically to the comK promoter and covers the RNA polymerase binding site, making it the fifth transcription factor regulating the activity of the comK promoter.
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