Low affinity DNA-binding promotes cooperative activation of natural transformation in <i>Vibrio cholerae</i>

DNA-binding transmembrane transcriptional regulators (TTRs) are critical for some bacterial species to properly sense and respond to their environments. Recent work highlights that pairs of TTRs can coordinate their activities to regulate gene expression, allowing them to sensitively control behaviors like virulence and horizontal gene transfer. However, the mechanisms that enable this coordination remain poorly understood. Here, we show that the relative DNA-binding affinity of paired TTRs is a critical feature that can drive their coordination.