Signal-transducing mechanisms involved in chitin-induced natural transformation in Vibrio cholerae

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In Vibrio cholerae, chitin, a polymer of GlcNAc, induces natural competence for genetic transformation. This study was done to understand the role of a novel transmembrane DNA-binding protein, named 'TfoS', in chitin-induced competence. The results suggested that: 1) TfoS acts as a transcriptional activator of the tfoR gene, encoding a chitin-induced small RNA essential for competence gene expression, 2) TfoS has no two-component system (TCS) signature domains, but its activity is strictly dependent on the chitin-responsive TCS sensor kinase ChiS, and 3) ChiS regulates the activity of TfoS using mechanisms distinct from classical phosphorelay reactions.