General Stress Response in Bacillus subtilis and Related Gram-Positive Bacteria

Author(s):  
Chester W. Price
2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 2331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeroen B. van der Steen ◽  
Yusuke Nakasone ◽  
Johnny Hendriks ◽  
Klaas J. Hellingwerf

2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (16) ◽  
pp. 4788-4794 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha M. Waters ◽  
José A. Robles-Martínez ◽  
Wayne L. Nicholson

ABSTRACTStudies of how microorganisms respond to pressure have been limited mostly to the extreme high pressures of the deep sea (i.e., the piezosphere). In contrast, despite the fact that the growth of most bacteria is inhibited at pressures below ∼2.5 kPa, little is known of microbial responses to low pressure (LP). To study the global LP response, we performed transcription microarrays onBacillus subtiliscells grown under normal atmospheric pressure (∼101 kPa) and a nearly inhibitory LP (5 kPa), equivalent to the pressure found at an altitude of ∼20 km. Microarray analysis revealed altered levels of 363 transcripts belonging to several global regulons (AbrB, CcpA, CodY, Fur, IolR, ResD, Rok, SigH, Spo0A). Notably, the highest number of upregulated genes, 86, belonged to the SigB-mediated general stress response (GSR) regulon. Upregulation of the GSR by LP was confirmed by monitoring the expression of the SigB-dependentctc-lacZreporter fusion. Measuring transcriptome changes resulting from exposure of bacterial cells to LP reveals insights into cellular processes that may respond to LP exposure.


2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (17) ◽  
pp. 6387-6395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana A. Gaidenko ◽  
Tae-Jong Kim ◽  
Andrea L. Weigel ◽  
Margaret S. Brody ◽  
Chester W. Price

ABSTRACT The general stress response of the bacterium Bacillus subtilis is regulated by a partner-switching mechanism in which serine and threonine phosphorylation controls protein interactions in the stress-signaling pathway. The environmental branch of this pathway contains a family of five paralogous proteins that function as negative regulators. Here we present genetic evidence that a sixth paralog, YtvA, acts as a positive regulator in the same environmental signaling branch. We also present biochemical evidence that YtvA and at least three of the negative regulators can be isolated from cell extracts in a large environmental signaling complex. YtvA differs from these associated negative regulators by its flavin mononucleotide (FMN)-containing light-oxygen-voltage domain. Others have shown that this domain has the photochemistry expected for a blue-light sensor, with the covalent linkage of the FMN chromophore to cysteine 62 composing a critical part of the photocycle. Consistent with the view that light intensity modifies the output of the environmental signaling pathway, we found that cysteine 62 is required for YtvA to exert its positive regulatory role in the absence of other stress. Transcriptional analysis of the ytvA structural gene indicated that it provides the entry point for at least one additional environmental input, mediated by the Spx global regulator of disulfide stress. These results support a model in which the large signaling complex serves to integrate multiple environmental signals in order to modulate the general stress response.


2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (24) ◽  
pp. 7318-7328 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D. Helmann ◽  
Ming Fang Winston Wu ◽  
Phil A. Kobel ◽  
Francisco-Javier Gamo ◽  
Michael Wilson ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT In response to heat stress, Bacillus subtilisactivates the transcription of well over 100 different genes. Many of these genes are members of a general stress response regulon controlled by the secondary sigma factor, ςB, while others are under control of the HrcA or CtsR heat shock regulators. We have used DNA microarrays to monitor the global transcriptional response to heat shock. We find strong induction of known ςB-dependent genes with a characteristic rapid induction followed by a return to near prestimulus levels. The HrcA and CtsR regulons are also induced, but with somewhat slower kinetics. Analysis of DNA sequences proximal to newly identified heat-induced genes leads us to propose ∼70 additional members of the ςB regulon. We have also identified numerous heat-induced genes that are not members of known heat shock regulons. Notably, we observe very strong induction of arginine biosynthesis and transport operons. Induction of several genes was confirmed by quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR. In addition, the transcriptional responses measured by microarray hybridization compare favorably with the numerous previous studies of heat shock in this organism. Since many different conditions elicit both specific and general stress responses, knowledge of the heat-induced general stress response reported here will be helpful for interpreting future microarray studies of other stress responses.


2012 ◽  
Vol 194 (7) ◽  
pp. 1708-1716 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. B. van der Steen ◽  
M. Avila-Perez ◽  
D. Knippert ◽  
A. Vreugdenhil ◽  
P. van Alphen ◽  
...  

1996 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Hecker ◽  
Wolfgang Schumann ◽  
Uwe Völker

2002 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 757-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chester W. Price ◽  
Paul Fawcett ◽  
Hélène Cérémonie ◽  
Nancy Su ◽  
Christopher K. Murphy ◽  
...  

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