Blue Light Activates the σB-Dependent Stress Response of Bacillus subtilis via YtvA

ABSTRACT Here we present evidence for a physiologically relevant light response mediated by the LOV domain-containing protein YtvA in the soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis. The loss and overproduction of YtvA abolish and enhance, respectively, the increase in σB-controlled ctc promoter activity at moderate light intensities. These effects were absent in the dark and in red light but present under blue-light illumination. Thus, activation of the general stress response in B. subtilis is modulated by blue light.

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Red Light Activates the σB-Mediated General Stress Response of Bacillus subtilis via the Energy Branch of the Upstream Signaling Cascade

Journal of Bacteriology ◽

10.1128/jb.00826-09 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 192 (3) ◽

pp. 755-762 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Marcela Ávila-Pérez ◽

Jeroen B. van der Steen ◽

Remco Kort ◽

Klaas J. Hellingwerf

Keyword(s):

Bacillus Subtilis ◽

Stress Response ◽

Red Light ◽

Light Response ◽

Stress Factors ◽

Signaling Cascade ◽

Phosphatase Domain ◽

General Stress Response ◽

General Stress ◽

Light Effects

ABSTRACT The σB-dependent general stress response in the common soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis can be elicited by a range of stress factors, such as starvation or an ethanol, salt, or heat shock, via a complex upstream signaling cascade. Additionally, σB can be activated by blue light via the phototropin homologue YtvA, a component of the environmental branch of the signaling cascade. Here we use a reporter-gene fusion to show that σB can also be activated by red light via the energy branch of its upstream signaling cascade. Deletion mutagenesis and homologous overproduction experiments indicate that the RsbP protein (composed of an N-terminal Per-ARNT-Sim [PAS] domain and a C-terminal PP2C-type phosphatase domain) is involved in the red light response. This second light input pathway functions complementarily to YtvA; it shows broader spectral sensitivity but requires higher light intensities. These results are confirmed by transcriptome analyses, which show that both light effects result in upregulation of the σB regulon, with minimal activation of other responses.

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The Blue-Light Receptor YtvA Acts in the Environmental Stress Signaling Pathway of Bacillus subtilis

Journal of Bacteriology ◽

10.1128/jb.00691-06 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 188 (17) ◽

pp. 6387-6395 ◽

Cited By ~ 100

Author(s):

Tatiana A. Gaidenko ◽

Tae-Jong Kim ◽

Andrea L. Weigel ◽

Margaret S. Brody ◽

Chester W. Price

Keyword(s):

Bacillus Subtilis ◽

Stress Response ◽

Signaling Pathway ◽

Blue Light ◽

Stress Signaling ◽

Negative Regulators ◽

General Stress Response ◽

Signaling Complex ◽

General Stress ◽

Stress Signaling Pathway

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.

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Modeling the functioning of YtvA in the general stress response in Bacillus subtilis

Molecular BioSystems ◽

10.1039/c3mb70124g ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 2331 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Jeroen B. van der Steen ◽

Yusuke Nakasone ◽

Johnny Hendriks ◽

Klaas J. Hellingwerf

Keyword(s):

Bacillus Subtilis ◽

Stress Response ◽

General Stress Response ◽

General Stress

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

Bacterial Stress Responses, Second Edition ◽

10.1128/9781555816841.ch17 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 301-318 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Chester W. Price

Keyword(s):

Bacillus Subtilis ◽

Stress Response ◽

Gram Positive ◽

General Stress Response ◽

Gram Positive Bacteria ◽

General Stress

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Role of blue and red light in stomatal dynamic behaviour

Journal of Experimental Botany ◽

10.1093/jxb/erz563 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 71 (7) ◽

pp. 2253-2269 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Jack S A Matthews ◽

Silvere Vialet-Chabrand ◽

Tracy Lawson

Keyword(s):

Blue Light ◽

Red Light ◽

Light Response ◽

Early Morning ◽

Stomatal Opening ◽

Carbon Gain ◽

Blue Light Response ◽

Order Of Magnitude ◽

Photosynthetic Responses ◽

Novel Target

Abstract Plants experience changes in light intensity and quality due to variations in solar angle and shading from clouds and overlapping leaves. Stomatal opening to increasing irradiance is often an order of magnitude slower than photosynthetic responses, which can result in CO2 diffusional limitations on leaf photosynthesis, as well as unnecessary water loss when stomata continue to open after photosynthesis has reached saturation. Stomatal opening to light is driven by two distinct pathways; the ‘red’ or photosynthetic response that occurs at high fluence rates and saturates with photosynthesis, and is thought to be the main mechanism that coordinates stomatal behaviour with photosynthesis; and the guard cell-specific ‘blue’ light response that saturates at low fluence rates, and is often considered independent of photosynthesis, and important for early morning stomatal opening. Here we review the literature on these complicated signal transduction pathways and osmoregulatory processes in guard cells that are influenced by the light environment. We discuss the possibility of tuning the sensitivity and magnitude of stomatal response to blue light which potentially represents a novel target to develop ideotypes with the ‘ideal’ balance between carbon gain, evaporative cooling, and maintenance of hydraulic status that is crucial for maximizing crop performance and productivity.

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Exposure of Bacillus subtilis to Low Pressure (5 Kilopascals) Induces Several Global Regulons, Including Those Involved in the SigB-Mediated General Stress Response

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.00885-14 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 80 (16) ◽

pp. 4788-4794 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Samantha M. Waters ◽

José A. Robles-Martínez ◽

Wayne L. Nicholson

Keyword(s):

Bacillus Subtilis ◽

Stress Response ◽

High Pressures ◽

Low Pressure ◽

Bacterial Cells ◽

Content Type ◽

General Stress Response ◽

Cellular Processes ◽

General Stress ◽

Microbial Responses

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.

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Cloning and sequencing of a 35.7kb in the 70°–73° region of the Bacillus subtilis genome reveal genes for a new two-component system, three spore germination proteins, an iron uptake system and a general stress response protein

Gene ◽

10.1016/s0378-1119(97)00130-3 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 194 (2) ◽

pp. 191-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Hiroki Yamamoto ◽

Shigeki Uchiyama ◽

Fajar Aji Nugroho ◽

Junichi Sekiguchi

Keyword(s):

Bacillus Subtilis ◽

Stress Response ◽

Iron Uptake ◽

Uptake System ◽

Two Component System ◽

Cloning And Sequencing ◽

Component System ◽

General Stress Response ◽

Two Component ◽

Subtilis Genome

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Global Transcriptional Response of Bacillus subtilis to Heat Shock

Journal of Bacteriology ◽

10.1128/jb.183.24.7318-7328.2001 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 183 (24) ◽

pp. 7318-7328 ◽

Cited By ~ 187

Author(s):

John D. Helmann ◽

Ming Fang Winston Wu ◽

Phil A. Kobel ◽

Francisco-Javier Gamo ◽

Michael Wilson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bacillus Subtilis ◽

Stress Response ◽

Heat Shock ◽

Dna Sequences ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Transcriptional Response ◽

Transcriptional Responses ◽

General Stress Response ◽

General Stress ◽

Induced Genes

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.

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