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

RelA Is a Component of the Nutritional Stress Activation Pathway of the Bacillus subtilis Transcription Factor ^B

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas 78229-3900

Received 6 March 2003/ Accepted 3 July 2003

The general stress regulon of Bacillus subtilis is induced by the activation of the ^B transcription factor. Activation of ^B occurs when one of two phosphatases (RsbU and RsbP), each responding to a unique type of stress, actuates a positive regulator of ^B by dephosphorylation. Nutritional stress triggers the RsbP phosphatase. The mechanism by which RsbP becomes active is unknown; however, its activation coincides with culture conditions that are likely to reduce the cell's levels of high-energy nucleotides. We now present evidence that RelA, a (p)ppGpp synthetase and the key enzyme of the stringent response, plays a role in nutritional stress activation of ^B. An insertion mutation that disrupts relA blocks the activation of ^B in response to PO₄ or glucose limitation and inhibits the drop in ATP/GTP levels that normally accompanies ^B induction under these conditions. In contrast, the activation of ^B by physical stress (e.g., ethanol treatment) is not affected by the loss of RelA. RelA's role in ^B activation appears to be distinct from its participation in the stringent response. Amino acid analogs which induce the stringent response and RelA-dependent (p)ppGpp synthesis do not trigger ^B activity. In addition, neither a missense mutation in relA (relA240GE) nor a null mutation in rplK (rplK54), either of which is sufficient to inhibit the stringent response and RelA-dependent (p)ppGpp synthesis, fails to block ^B activation by PO₄ or glucose limitation.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Reeves, A., Haldenwang, W. G. (2007). Isolation and Characterization of Dominant Mutations in the Bacillus subtilis Stressosome Components RsbR and RsbS. J. Bacteriol. 189: 1531-1541 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Delumeau, O., Chen, C.-C., Murray, J. W., Yudkin, M. D., Lewis, R. J. (2006). High-Molecular-Weight Complexes of RsbR and Paralogues in the Environmental Signaling Pathway of Bacillus subtilis. J. Bacteriol. 188: 7885-7892 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Senn, M. M., Giachino, P., Homerova, D., Steinhuber, A., Strassner, J., Kormanec, J., Fluckiger, U., Berger-Bachi, B., Bischoff, M. (2005). Molecular Analysis and Organization of the {sigma}B Operon in Staphylococcus aureus. J. Bacteriol. 187: 8006-8019 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Zhang, S., Haldenwang, W. G. (2005). Contributions of ATP, GTP, and Redox State to Nutritional Stress Activation of the Bacillus subtilis {sigma}B Transcription Factor. J. Bacteriol. 187: 7554-7560 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Kaneko, T., Tanaka, N., Kumasaka, T. (2005). Crystal structures of RsbQ, a stress-response regulator in Bacillus subtilis. Protein Sci. 14: 558-565 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Kuo, S., Zhang, S., Woodbury, R. L., Haldenwang, W. G. (2004). Associations between Bacillus subtilis {sigma}B regulators in cell extracts. Microbiology 150: 4125-4136 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Chen, C.-C., Yudkin, M. D., Delumeau, O. (2004). Phosphorylation and RsbX-Dependent Dephosphorylation of RsbR in the RsbR-RsbS Complex of Bacillus subtilis. J. Bacteriol. 186: 6830-6836 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Chaturongakul, S., Boor, K. J. (2004). RsbT and RsbV Contribute to {sigma}B-Dependent Survival under Environmental, Energy, and Intracellular Stress Conditions in Listeria monocytogenes. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 5349-5356 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Wout, P., Pu, K., Sullivan, S. M., Reese, V., Zhou, S., Lin, B., Maddock, J. R. (2004). The Escherichia coli GTPase CgtAE Cofractionates with the 50S Ribosomal Subunit and Interacts with SpoT, a ppGpp Synthetase/Hydrolase. J. Bacteriol. 186: 5249-5257 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Woodbury, R. L., Luo, T., Grant, L., Haldenwang, W. G. (2004). Mutational Analysis of RsbT, an Activator of the Bacillus subtilis Stress Response Transcription Factor, {sigma}B. J. Bacteriol. 186: 2789-2797 [Abstract] [Full Text]