Effect of intrastrain variation in the amount of capsular polysaccharide on genetic transformation of Streptococcus pneumoniae: implications for virulence studies of encapsulated strains.

Abstract excerpt

The degrees of competence of opaque and transparent colony variants of Streptococcus pneumoniae were compared. The transparent variants were transformed at 9- to 670-fold-higher rates than the opaque variants, independent of the DNA incorporated, due to decreased expression of capsular polysaccharide. Genetic transformation, therefore, tends to select for a less-encapsulated subpopulation.

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