This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Sato, T.
Right arrow Articles by Kobayashi, Y.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Sato, T.
Right arrow Articles by Kobayashi, Y.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

J Bacteriol, April 1998, p. 1655-1661, Vol. 180, No. 7
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

The ars Operon in the skin Element of Bacillus subtilis Confers Resistance to Arsenate and Arsenite

Tsutomu Sato* and Yasuo Kobayashi

Department of Applied Biological Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Tokyo 183, Japan

Received 14 July 1997/Accepted 21 January 1998

The Bacillus subtilis skin element confers resistance to arsenate and arsenite. The ars operon in the skin element contains four genes in the order arsR, ORF2, arsB, and arsC. Three of these genes are homologous to the arsR, arsB, and arsC genes from the staphylococcal plasmid pI258, while no homologs of ORF2 have been found. Inactivation of arsR, arsB, or arsC results in either constitutive expression of ars, an arsenite- and arsenate-sensitive phenotype, or an arsenate-sensitive phenotype, respectively. These results suggest that ArsR, ArsB, and ArsC function as a negative regulator, a membrane-associated protein need for extrusion of arsenite, and arsenate reductase, respectively. Expression of the ars operon was induced by arsenate, arsenite, and antimonite. Northern hybridization and primer extension analysis showed that synthesis of a full-length ars transcript of about 2.4 kb was induced by arsenate and that the ars promoter contains sequences that resemble the -10 and -35 regions of promoters that are recognized by Esigma A.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Applied Biological Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Tokyo 183, Japan. Phone: 81-423-67-5707. Fax: 81-423-67-5715. E-mail: subtilis{at}cc.tuat.ac.jp.




This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Wang, L., Jeon, B., Sahin, O., Zhang, Q. (2009). Identification of an Arsenic Resistance and Arsenic-Sensing System in Campylobacter jejuni. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 5064-5073 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Fu, H.-L., Meng, Y., Ordonez, E., Villadangos, A. F., Bhattacharjee, H., Gil, J. A., Mateos, L. M., Rosen, B. P. (2009). Properties of Arsenite Efflux Permeases (Acr3) from Alkaliphilus metalliredigens and Corynebacterium glutamicum. J. Biol. Chem. 284: 19887-19895 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Haveman, S. A., DiDonato, R. J. Jr., Villanueva, L., Shelobolina, E. S., Postier, B. L., Xu, B., Liu, A., Lovley, D. R. (2008). Genome-Wide Gene Expression Patterns and Growth Requirements Suggest that Pelobacter carbinolicus Reduces Fe(III) Indirectly via Sulfide Production. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 4277-4284 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Li, X., Krumholz, L. R. (2007). Regulation of Arsenate Resistance in Desulfovibrio desulfuricans G20 by an arsRBCC Operon and an arsC Gene. J. Bacteriol. 189: 3705-3711 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Wang, L., Chen, S., Xiao, X., Huang, X., You, D., Zhou, X., Deng, Z. (2006). arsRBOCT Arsenic Resistance System Encoded by Linear Plasmid pHZ227 in Streptomyces sp. Strain FR-008.. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 3738-3742 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Guo, X., Li, Y., Peng, K., Hu, Y., Li, C., Xia, B., Jin, C. (2005). Solution Structures and Backbone Dynamics of Arsenate Reductase from Bacillus subtilis: REVERSIBLE CONFORMATIONAL SWITCH ASSOCIATED WITH ARSENATE REDUCTION. J. Biol. Chem. 280: 39601-39608 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ordonez, E., Letek, M., Valbuena, N., Gil, J. A., Mateos, L. M. (2005). Analysis of Genes Involved in Arsenic Resistance in Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 6206-6215 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Carrasco, C. D., Holliday, S. D., Hansel, A., Lindblad, P., Golden, J. W. (2005). Heterocyst-Specific Excision of the Anabaena sp. Strain PCC 7120 hupL Element Requires xisC. J. Bacteriol. 187: 6031-6038 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Shivaji, S., Suresh, K., Chaturvedi, P., Dube, S., Sengupta, S. (2005). Bacillus arsenicus sp. nov., an arsenic-resistant bacterium isolated from a siderite concretion in West Bengal, India. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 55: 1123-1127 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Qiu, D., Fujita, K., Sakuma, Y., Tanaka, T., Ohashi, Y., Ohshima, H., Tomita, M., Itaya, M. (2004). Comparative Analysis of Physical Maps of Four Bacillus subtilis (natto) Genomes. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 6247-6256 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Suresh, K., Prabagaran, S. R., Sengupta, S., Shivaji, S. (2004). Bacillus indicus sp. nov., an arsenic-resistant bacterium isolated from an aquifer in West Bengal, India. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 54: 1369-1375 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Suresh, K., Reddy, G. S. N., Sengupta, S., Shivaji, S. (2004). Deinococcus indicus sp. nov., an arsenic-resistant bacterium from an aquifer in West Bengal, India. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 54: 457-461 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Lopez-Maury, L., Florencio, F. J., Reyes, J. C. (2003). Arsenic Sensing and Resistance System in the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. Strain PCC 6803. J. Bacteriol. 185: 5363-5371 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Helmann, J. D., Wu, M. F. W., Gaballa, A., Kobel, P. A., Morshedi, M. M., Fawcett, P., Paddon, C. (2003). The Global Transcriptional Response of Bacillus subtilis to Peroxide Stress Is Coordinated by Three Transcription Factors. J. Bacteriol. 185: 243-253 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Butcher, B. G., Rawlings, D. E. (2002). The divergent chromosomal ars operon of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans is regulated by an atypical ArsR protein. Microbiology 148: 3983-3992 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bennett, M. S., Guan, Z., Laurberg, M., Su, X.-D. (2001). Bacillus subtilis arsenate reductase is structurally and functionally similar to low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatases. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 10.1073/pnas.241397198v1 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Butcher, B. G., Deane, S. M., Rawlings, D. E. (2000). The Chromosomal Arsenic Resistance Genes of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans Have an Unusual Arrangement and Confer Increased Arsenic and Antimony Resistance to Escherichia coli. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66: 1826-1833 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ghosh, M., Shen, J., Rosen, B. P. (1999). Pathways of As(III) detoxification in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96: 5001-5006 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bennett, M. S., Guan, Z., Laurberg, M., Su, X.-D. (2001). Bacillus subtilis arsenate reductase is structurally and functionally similar to low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatases. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98: 13577-13582 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»