title: Stress induction of clpC in Bacillus subtilis and its involvement in stress tolerance.
abstract: A member of the clpC subfamily of stress response-related Clp ATPases was cloned from Bacillus subtilis. The B. subtilis clpC gene was induced in response to various stresses, including heat shock. Its product was identified as a general stress protein (Gsp12) described previously. A dramatic increase in the amount of clpC mRNA immediately after exposure to multiple stresses suggested regulation on a transcriptional level. Induction by heat shock was independent of the alternative sigma factor SigB, indicating a new mechanism of heat shock induction in B. subtilis. A clpC insertional mutant had an impaired tolerance for heat shock and salt stress. Furthermore, the mutation triggered the formation of elongated cells, a phenomenon particularly pronounced during stress.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Mikrobiologie und Molekularbiologie, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität, Greifswald, Germany.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Krüger
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Völker
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hecker
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological / Q000235:genetics; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002455:Cell Division; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D009841:Oligonucleotides; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C087481:ClpC protein, Bacteria; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; D009841:Oligonucleotides; D012333:RNA, Messenger