# Understanding the mechanism of genetic transformation

> **NIH NIH R01** · RBHS-NEW JERSEY MEDICAL SCHOOL · 2021 · $218,510

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Natural transformation in bacteria is an important mode of horizontal gene transfer. Generally, it contributes to
bacterial evolution and specifically to the spread of antibiotic resistance and virulence genes. This proposal will
use Bacillus subtilis as a model to address the fundamental, largely conserved mechanisms that enable the
uptake of environmental DNA. It will address the binding of DNA to the surface of the cell, traversal through the
cell wall and translocation of DNA across the cell membrane. This plan will provide broad insights into molecular
details of transformation and will bring us closer to the long-term goal of understanding the mechanism of DNA
uptake. It is proposed to investigate the energy sources for DNA uptake, the proteins involved, some of their
structures and their interactions as components of a molecular machine. These aims will be pursued using the
tools of cell biology, genetics, biochemistry and structural biology. A common feature of these original aims is a
dependence on membrane protein purification. To aid us in the purification of the membrane proteins in
preparation for cryoEM (or, in some cases, X-ray crystallography in lipidic cubic phase) we propose to purchase
the Prometheus Panta instrument manufactured by NanoTemper Technologies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10387723
- **Project number:** 3R01GM057720-51S1
- **Recipient organization:** RBHS-NEW JERSEY MEDICAL SCHOOL
- **Principal Investigator:** DAVID A DUBNAU
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $218,510
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 1977-06-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10387723

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10387723, Understanding the mechanism of genetic transformation (3R01GM057720-51S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10387723. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*