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 Wecke, T.
Right arrow Articles by Mascher, T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Wecke, T.
Right arrow Articles by Mascher, T.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, November 2006, p. 7500-7511, Vol. 188, No. 21
0021-9193/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01110-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Cell Envelope Stress Response in Bacillus licheniformis: Integrating Comparative Genomics, Transcriptional Profiling, and Regulon Mining To Decipher a Complex Regulatory Network{triangledown}

Tina Wecke,1 Birgit Veith,2 Armin Ehrenreich,2 and Thorsten Mascher1*

Department of General Microbiology, Georg-August-University, 37077 Göttingen, Germany,1 Department of Genomic and Applied Microbiology, Georg-August-University, 37077 Göttingen, Germany2

Received 25 July 2006/ Accepted 18 August 2006

The envelope is an essential structure of the bacterial cell, and maintaining its integrity is a prerequisite for survival. To ensure proper function, transmembrane signal-transducing systems, such as two-component systems (TCS) and extracytoplasmic function (ECF) {sigma} factors, closely monitor its condition and respond to harmful perturbations. Both systems consist of a transmembrane sensor protein (histidine kinase or anti-{sigma} factor, respectively) and a corresponding cytoplasmic transcriptional regulator (response regulator or {sigma} factor, respectively) that mediates the cellular response through differential gene expression. The regulatory network of the cell envelope stress response is well studied in the gram-positive model organism Bacillus subtilis. It consists of at least two ECF {sigma} factors and four two-component systems. In this study, we describe the corresponding network in a close relative, Bacillus licheniformis. Based on sequence homology, domain architecture, and genomic context, we identified five TCS and eight ECF {sigma} factors as potential candidate regulatory systems mediating cell envelope stress response in this organism. We characterized the corresponding regulatory network by comparative transcriptomics and regulon mining as an initial screening tool. Subsequent in-depth transcriptional profiling was applied to define the inducer specificity of each identified cell envelope stress sensor. A total of three TCS and seven ECF {sigma} factors were shown to be induced by cell envelope stress in B. licheniformis. We noted a number of significant differences, indicative of a regulatory divergence between the two Bacillus species, in addition to the expected overlap in the respective responses.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of General Microbiology, Georg-August-University, Grisebachstr. 8, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany. Phone: 49-551-3919862. Fax: 49-551-393808. E-mail: tmasche{at}gwdg.de.

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 25 August 2006.

Journal of Bacteriology, November 2006, p. 7500-7511, Vol. 188, No. 21
0021-9193/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01110-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Wecke, T., Zuhlke, D., Mader, U., Jordan, S., Voigt, B., Pelzer, S., Labischinski, H., Homuth, G., Hecker, M., Mascher, T. (2009). Daptomycin versus Friulimicin B: In-Depth Profiling of Bacillus subtilis Cell Envelope Stress Responses. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 53: 1619-1623 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Eiamphungporn, W., Helmann, J. D. (2009). Extracytoplasmic Function {sigma} Factors Regulate Expression of the Bacillus subtilis yabE Gene via a cis-Acting Antisense RNA. J. Bacteriol. 191: 1101-1105 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bernard, R., Guiseppi, A., Chippaux, M., Foglino, M., Denizot, F. (2007). Resistance to Bacitracin in Bacillus subtilis: Unexpected Requirement of the BceAB ABC Transporter in the Control of Expression of Its Own Structural Genes. J. Bacteriol. 189: 8636-8642 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Jordan, S., Rietkotter, E., Strauch, M. A., Kalamorz, F., Butcher, B. G., Helmann, J. D., Mascher, T. (2007). LiaRS-dependent gene expression is embedded in transition state regulation in Bacillus subtilis. Microbiology 153: 2530-2540 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mascher, T., Helmann, J. D., Unden, G. (2006). Stimulus Perception in Bacterial Signal-Transducing Histidine Kinases. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 70: 910-938 [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»