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 Salzberg, L. I.
Right arrow Articles by Helmann, J. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Salzberg, L. I.
Right arrow Articles by Helmann, J. D.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, July 2007, p. 4671-4680, Vol. 189, No. 13
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00403-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

An Antibiotic-Inducible Cell Wall-Associated Protein That Protects Bacillus subtilis from Autolysis{triangledown}

Letal I. Salzberg and John D. Helmann*

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

Received 19 March 2007/ Accepted 24 April 2007

In Bacillus subtilis, antibiotics that impair cell wall synthesis induce a characteristic stress response including the {sigma}W and {sigma}M regulons and the previously uncharacterized yoeB gene. Here we demonstrate that YoeB is a cell wall-associated protein with weak sequence similarity to a noncatalytic domain of class B penicillin-binding proteins. A yoeB-null mutant exhibits an increased rate of autolysis in response to cell wall-targeting antibiotics or nutrient depletion. This phenotype does not appear to be correlated with gross alterations in peptidoglycan structure or levels of autolysins. Promoter dissection experiments define a minimal region necessary for antibiotic-mediated induction of yoeB, and this region is highly conserved preceding yoeB homologs in close relatives of B. subtilis. These results support a model in which induction of YoeB in response to cell envelope stress decreases the activity of autolysins and thereby reduces the rate of antibiotic-dependent cell death.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology, 370 Wing Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. Phone: (607) 255-6570. Fax: (607) 255-3904. E-mail: jdh9{at}cornell.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 4 May 2007.

Journal of Bacteriology, July 2007, p. 4671-4680, Vol. 189, No. 13
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00403-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Luo, Y., Helmann, J. D. (2009). Extracytoplasmic Function {sigma} Factors with Overlapping Promoter Specificity Regulate Sublancin Production in Bacillus subtilis. J. Bacteriol. 191: 4951-4958 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Gamba, P., Veening, J.-W., Saunders, N. J., Hamoen, L. W., Daniel, R. A. (2009). Two-Step Assembly Dynamics of the Bacillus subtilis Divisome. J. Bacteriol. 191: 4186-4194 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • 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]  
  • Schirner, K., Errington, J. (2009). The Cell Wall Regulator {sigma}I Specifically Suppresses the Lethal Phenotype of mbl Mutants in Bacillus subtilis. J. Bacteriol. 191: 1404-1413 [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]  
  • Banerjee, R., Gretes, M., Basuino, L., Strynadka, N., Chambers, H. F. (2008). In Vitro Selection and Characterization of Ceftobiprole-Resistant Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 52: 2089-2096 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Falk, S. P., Ulijasz, A. T., Weisblum, B. (2007). Differential Assay for High-Throughput Screening of Antibacterial Compounds. J Biomol Screen 12: 1102-1108 [Abstract]  


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