| Description | Competence is the ability of a cell to take up exogenous DNA from its environment, resulting in transformation. It is widespread among bacteria and is probably an important mechanism for the horizontal transfer of genes. DNA usually becomes available by the death and lysis of other cells. Competent bacteria use components of extracellular filaments called type 4 pili to create pores in their membranes and pull DNA through the pores into the cytoplasm. This process, including the development of competence and the expression of the uptake machinery, is regulated in response to cell-cell signalling and/or nutritional conditions [ ].This family consists of several bacterial ComK proteins. ComK of Bacillus subtilis is a positive autoregulatory protein occupying a central position in the competence-signal-transduction network. It positively regulates the transcription of late competence genes, which specify morphogenetic and structural proteins necessary for construction of the DNA-binding and uptake apparatus, as well as the transcription of comK itself [ , ]. ComK specifically binds to the promoters of the genes that it affects. It has been found that ClpX plays an important role in the regulation of ComK at the post-transcriptional level [ ]. | Name | Competence protein ComK |
| Short Name | ComK | Type | Family |
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