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Journal of Bacteriology, June 2007, p. 4384-4390, Vol. 189, No. 12
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00313-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Identification of the {sigma}B Regulon of Bacillus cereus and Conservation of {sigma}B-Regulated Genes in Low-GC-Content Gram-Positive Bacteria{triangledown} ,{dagger}

Willem van Schaik,1,2,{ddagger} Menno van der Voort,1,2 Douwe Molenaar,1,3 Roy Moezelaar,1,4 Willem M. de Vos,1 and Tjakko Abee1,2*

Wageningen Centre for Food Sciences, P.O. Box 557, 6700AN Wageningen, The Netherlands,1 Laboratory of Food Microbiology, Wageningen University and Research Centre, P.O. Box 8129, 6700EV Wageningen, The Netherlands,2 NIZO Food Research, P.O. Box 20, 6710BA Ede, The Netherlands,3 Food Technology Centre, Wageningen University and Research Centre, P.O. Box 17, 6700AA Wageningen, The Netherlands4

Received 2 March 2007/ Accepted 29 March 2007

The alternative sigma factor {sigma}B has an important role in the acquisition of stress resistance in many gram-positive bacteria, including the food-borne pathogen Bacillus cereus. Here, we describe the identification of the set of {sigma}B-regulated genes in B. cereus by DNA microarray analysis of the transcriptome upon a mild heat shock. Twenty-four genes could be identified as being {sigma}B dependent as witnessed by (i) significantly lower expression levels of these genes in mutants with a deletion of sigB and rsbY (which encode the alternative sigma factor {sigma}B and a crucial positive regulator of {sigma}B activity, respectively) than in the parental strain B. cereus ATCC 14579 and (ii) increased expression of these genes upon a heat shock. Newly identified {sigma}B-dependent genes in B. cereus include a histidine kinase and two genes that have predicted functions in spore germination. This study shows that the {sigma}B regulon of B. cereus is considerably smaller than that of other gram-positive bacteria. This appears to be in line with phylogenetic analyses where {sigma}B of the B. cereus group was placed close to the ancestral form of {sigma}B in gram-positive bacteria. The data described in this study and previous studies in which the complete {sigma}B regulon of the gram-positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus were determined enabled a comparison of the sets of {sigma}B-regulated genes in the different gram-positive bacteria. This showed that only three genes (rsbV, rsbW, and sigB) are conserved in their {sigma}B dependency in all four bacteria, suggesting that the {sigma}B regulon of the different gram-positive bacteria has evolved to perform niche-specific functions.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratory of Food Microbiology, Wageningen University, Bomenweg 2, 6703HD Wageningen, The Netherlands. Phone: 31-317-484981. Fax: 31-317-484978. E-mail: tjakko.abee{at}wur.nl

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 6 April 2007.

{dagger} Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://jb.asm.org/.

{ddagger} Present address: Toxines et Pathogénie Bacterienne, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.

Journal of Bacteriology, June 2007, p. 4384-4390, Vol. 189, No. 12
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00313-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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