Abstract
Bacteria have developed mechanisms to communicate and compete with each other for limited environmental resources. We found that certain Escherichia coli, including uropathogenic strains, contained a bacterial growth-inhibition system that uses direct cell-to-cell contact. Inhibition was conditional, dependent upon the growth state of the inhibitory cell and the pili expression state of the target cell. Both a large cell-surface protein designated Contact-dependent inhibitor A (CdiA) and two-partner secretion family member CdiB were required for growth inhibition. The CdiAB system may function to regulate the growth of specific cells within a differentiated bacterial population.
Publication types
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
MeSH terms
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Amino Acid Sequence
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Cloning, Molecular
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Computational Biology
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Contact Inhibition
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Culture Media, Conditioned
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Escherichia coli / genetics
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Escherichia coli / growth & development*
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Escherichia coli / pathogenicity
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Escherichia coli / physiology
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Escherichia coli K12 / genetics
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Escherichia coli K12 / growth & development*
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Escherichia coli K12 / physiology
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Escherichia coli Proteins / chemistry
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Escherichia coli Proteins / genetics
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Escherichia coli Proteins / physiology*
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Fimbriae, Bacterial / metabolism
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Genes, Bacterial
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Genetic Complementation Test
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Genomic Islands
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Membrane Proteins / chemistry
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Membrane Proteins / genetics
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Membrane Proteins / physiology*
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Molecular Sequence Data
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Mutation
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Open Reading Frames
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Virulence
Substances
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CdiA protein, E coli
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CdiB protein, E coli
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Culture Media, Conditioned
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Escherichia coli Proteins
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Membrane Proteins