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 Cao, M.
Right arrow Articles by Helmann, J. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Cao, M.
Right arrow Articles by Helmann, J. D.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, November 2002, p. 6123-6129, Vol. 184, No. 22
0021-9193/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.184.22.6123-6129.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Regulation of the Bacillus subtilis bcrC Bacitracin Resistance Gene by Two Extracytoplasmic Function {sigma} Factors

Min Cao and John D. Helmann*

Department of Microbiology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853-8101

Received 17 June 2002/ Accepted 20 August 2002

Bacitracin resistance is normally conferred by either of two major mechanisms, the BcrABC transporter, which pumps out bacitracin, or BacA, an undecaprenol kinase that provides C55-isoprenyl phosphate by de novo synthesis. We demonstrate that the Bacillus subtilis bcrC (ywoA) gene, encoding a putative bacitracin transport permease, is an important bacitracin resistance determinant. A bcrC mutant strain had an eightfold-higher sensitivity to bacitracin. Expression of bcrC initiated from a single promoter site that could be recognized by either of two extracytoplasmic function (ECF) {sigma} factors, {sigma}X or {sigma}M. Bacitracin induced expression of bcrC, and this induction was dependent on {sigma}M but not on {sigma}X. Under inducing conditions, expression was primarily dependent on {sigma}M. As a consequence, a sigM mutant was fourfold more sensitive to bacitracin, while the sigX mutant was only slightly sensitive. A sigX sigM double mutant was similar to a bcrC mutant in sensitivity. These results support the suggestion that one function of B. subtilis ECF {sigma} factors is to coordinate antibiotic stress responses.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-8101. Phone: (607) 255-6570. Fax: (607) 255-3904. E-mail: jdh9{at}cornell.edu.

Journal of Bacteriology, November 2002, p. 6123-6129, Vol. 184, No. 22
0021-9193/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.184.22.6123-6129.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Hachmann, A.-B., Angert, E. R., Helmann, J. D. (2009). Genetic Analysis of Factors Affecting Susceptibility of Bacillus subtilis to Daptomycin. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 53: 1598-1609 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Tseng, C.-L., Shaw, G.-C. (2008). Genetic Evidence for the Actin Homolog Gene mreBH and the Bacitracin Resistance Gene bcrC as Targets of the Alternative Sigma Factor SigI of Bacillus subtilis. J. Bacteriol. 190: 1561-1567 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mascher, T., Hachmann, A.-B., Helmann, J. D. (2007). Regulatory Overlap and Functional Redundancy among Bacillus subtilis Extracytoplasmic Function {sigma} Factors. J. Bacteriol. 189: 6919-6927 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Jervis, A. J., Thackray, P. D., Houston, C. W., Horsburgh, M. J., Moir, A. (2007). SigM-Responsive Genes of Bacillus subtilis and Their Promoters. J. Bacteriol. 189: 4534-4538 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Freiberg, C., Brunner, N., Macko, L., Fischer, H. P. (2006). Discovering Antibiotic Efficacy Biomarkers: TOWARD MECHANISM-SPECIFIC HIGH CONTENT COMPOUND SCREENING. Mol. Cell. Proteomics 5: 2326-2335 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Wecke, T., Veith, B., Ehrenreich, A., Mascher, T. (2006). Cell Envelope Stress Response in Bacillus licheniformis: Integrating Comparative Genomics, Transcriptional Profiling, and Regulon Mining To Decipher a Complex Regulatory Network. J. Bacteriol. 188: 7500-7511 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Minnig, K., Lazarevic, V., Soldo, B., Mauel, C. (2005). Analysis of teichoic acid biosynthesis regulation reveals that the extracytoplasmic function sigma factor {sigma}M is induced by phosphate depletion in Bacillus subtilis W23. Microbiology 151: 3041-3049 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bernard, R., El Ghachi, M., Mengin-Lecreulx, D., Chippaux, M., Denizot, F. (2005). BcrC from Bacillus subtilis Acts as an Undecaprenyl Pyrophosphate Phosphatase in Bacitracin Resistance. J. Biol. Chem. 280: 28852-28857 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ghachi, M. E., Derbise, A., Bouhss, A., Mengin-Lecreulx, D. (2005). Identification of Multiple Genes Encoding Membrane Proteins with Undecaprenyl Pyrophosphate Phosphatase (UppP) Activity in Escherichia coli. J. Biol. Chem. 280: 18689-18695 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Cao, M., Moore, C. M., Helmann, J. D. (2005). Bacillus subtilis Paraquat Resistance Is Directed by {sigma}M, an Extracytoplasmic Function Sigma Factor, and Is Conferred by YqjL and BcrC. J. Bacteriol. 187: 2948-2956 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Pietiainen, M., Gardemeister, M., Mecklin, M., Leskela, S., Sarvas, M., Kontinen, V. P. (2005). Cationic antimicrobial peptides elicit a complex stress response in Bacillus subtilis that involves ECF-type sigma factors and two-component signal transduction systems. Microbiology 151: 1577-1592 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Freiberg, C., Fischer, H. P., Brunner, N. A. (2005). Discovering the Mechanism of Action of Novel Antibacterial Agents through Transcriptional Profiling of Conditional Mutants. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 49: 749-759 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Manson, J. M., Keis, S., Smith, J. M. B., Cook, G. M. (2004). Acquired Bacitracin Resistance in Enterococcus faecalis Is Mediated by an ABC Transporter and a Novel Regulatory Protein, BcrR. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 48: 3743-3748 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ghachi, M. E., Bouhss, A., Blanot, D., Mengin-Lecreulx, D. (2004). The bacA Gene of Escherichia coli Encodes an Undecaprenyl Pyrophosphate Phosphatase Activity. J. Biol. Chem. 279: 30106-30113 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Cao, M., Helmann, J. D. (2004). The Bacillus subtilis Extracytoplasmic-Function {sigma}X Factor Regulates Modification of the Cell Envelope and Resistance to Cationic Antimicrobial Peptides. J. Bacteriol. 186: 1136-1146 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Fuangthong, M., Helmann, J. D. (2003). Recognition of DNA by Three Ferric Uptake Regulator (Fur) Homologs in Bacillus subtilis. J. Bacteriol. 185: 6348-6357 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Cao, M., Salzberg, L., Tsai, C. S., Mascher, T., Bonilla, C., Wang, T., Ye, R. W., Marquez-Magana, L., Helmann, J. D. (2003). Regulation of the Bacillus subtilis Extracytoplasmic Function Protein {sigma}Y and Its Target Promoters. J. Bacteriol. 185: 4883-4890 [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»