This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental material Other Versions of this Article: JB.01782-06v1 189/8/3063    most recent 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 Rogstam, A. Articles by von Wachenfeldt, C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Rogstam, A. Articles by von Wachenfeldt, C.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, April 2007, p. 3063-3071, Vol. 189, No. 8
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01782-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Mechanisms of Adaptation to Nitrosative Stress in Bacillus subtilis ^,

Department of Cell and Organism Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 35, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden

Received 23 November 2006/ Accepted 1 February 2007

Bacteria use a number of mechanisms for coping with the toxic effects exerted by nitric oxide (NO) and its derivatives. Here we show that the flavohemoglobin encoded by the hmp gene has a vital role in an adaptive response to protect the soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis from nitrosative stress. We further show that nitrosative stress induced by the nitrosonium cation donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) leads to deactivation of the transcriptional repressor NsrR, resulting in derepression of hmp. Nitrosative stress induces the sigma B-controlled general stress regulon. However, a sigB null mutant did not show increased sensitivity to SNP, suggesting that the sigma B-dependent stress proteins are involved in a nonspecific protection against stress whereas the Hmp flavohemoglobin plays a central role in detoxification. Mutations in the yjbIH operon, which encodes a truncated hemoglobin (YjbI) and a predicted 34-kDa cytosolic protein of unknown function (YjbH), rendered B. subtilis hypersensitive to SNP, suggesting roles in nitrosative stress management.

Published ahead of print on 9 February 2007.

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

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Hochgrafe, F., Wolf, C., Fuchs, S., Liebeke, M., Lalk, M., Engelmann, S., Hecker, M. (2008). Nitric Oxide Stress Induces Different Responses but Mediates Comparable Protein Thiol Protection in Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus. J. Bacteriol. 190: 4997-5008 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Gusarov, I., Starodubtseva, M., Wang, Z.-Q., McQuade, L., Lippard, S. J., Stuehr, D. J., Nudler, E. (2008). Bacterial Nitric-oxide Synthases Operate without a Dedicated Redox Partner. J. Biol. Chem. 283: 13140-13147 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Vinogradov, S. N., Moens, L. (2008). Diversity of Globin Function: Enzymatic, Transport, Storage, and Sensing. J. Biol. Chem. 283: 8773-8777 [Full Text]  
• Chiranand, W., McLeod, I., Zhou, H., Lynn, J. J., Vega, L. A., Myers, H., Yates, J. R. III, Lorenz, M. C., Gustin, M. C. (2008). CTA4 Transcription Factor Mediates Induction of Nitrosative Stress Response in Candida albicans. Eukaryot Cell 7: 268-278 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Isabella, V., Wright, L. F., Barth, K., Spence, J. M., Grogan, S., Genco, C. A., Clark, V. L. (2008). cis- and trans-acting elements involved in regulation of norB (norZ), the gene encoding nitric oxide reductase in Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Microbiology 154: 226-239 [Abstract] [Full Text]