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Journal of Bacteriology, December 2001, p. 6815-6821, Vol. 183, No. 23
Institut für Organische Chemie und
Biochemie, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg,1 Institut für
Mikrobiologie, Technische Universität Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig,2 and Max-Planck-Institut
für Terrestrische Mikrobiologie, 35043 Marburg, and
Laboratorium für Mikrobiologie, Fachbereich Biologie,
Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35032 Marburg,4 Germany, and Unité de
Régulation de l'Expression Génétique, Institut
Pasteur, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France3
Received 23 April 2001/Accepted 23 August 2001
Bacillus subtilis grows under anaerobic conditions
utilizing nitrate ammonification and various fermentative processes.
The two-component regulatory system ResDE and the redox regulator Fnr
are the currently known parts of the regulatory system for anaerobic
adaptation. Mutation of the open reading frame ywiD located upstream of the respiratory nitrate reductase operon
narGHJI resulted in elimination of the contribution of
nitrite dissimilation to anaerobic nitrate respiratory growth.
Significantly reduced nitrite reductase (NasDE) activity was detected,
while respiratory nitrate reductase activity was unchanged. Anaerobic
induction of nasDE expression was found to be
significantly dependent on intact ywiD, while anaerobic
narGHJI expression was ywiD independent. Anaerobic transcription of hmp, encoding a
flavohemoglobin-like protein, and of the fermentative operons
lctEP and alsSD, responsible for lactate
and acetoin formation, was partially dependent on ywiD.
Expression of pta, encoding phosphotransacetylase
involved in fermentative acetate formation, was not influenced by
ywiD. Transcription of the ywiD gene was
anaerobically induced by the redox regulator Fnr via the conserved
Fnr-box (TGTGA-6N-TCACT) centered 40.5 bp upstream of the
transcriptional start site. Anaerobic induction of ywiD
by resDE was found to be indirect via
resDE-dependent activation of fnr. The
ywiD gene is subject to autorepression and nitrite
repression. These results suggest a ResDE
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.23.6815-6821.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Modulation of Anaerobic Energy Metabolism of
Bacillus subtilis by arfM
(ywiD)

Fnr
YwiD regulatory
cascade for the modulation of genes involved in the anaerobic
metabolism of B. subtilis. Therefore,
ywiD was renamed arfM for anaerobic
respiration and fermentation modulator.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institut
für Mikrobiologie, Technische Universität Braunschweig,
Spielmannstr.7, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany. Phone: 49(0)531-3915801.
Fax: 49(0)531-3915854. E-mail: d.jahn{at}tu-bs.de.
Present address: Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology,
The University of Sheffield, Firth Court, Western Bank, Sheffield S10
2TN, United Kingdom.
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