title: Bacillus licheniformis sigB operon encoding the general stress transcription factor sigma B.
abstract: The general stress response of the Gram-positive soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis is controlled by the sigma B transcription factor. sigma B activity is regulated by the newly discovered partner switching mechanism of signal transduction, which integrates the two different classes of challenges which posttranslationally activate sigma B: environmental stress and energy stress. Our investigation of a possible sigma B homologue in the related soil bacterium B. licheniformis had two goals. First, this study would contribute to understanding the distribution of the sigma B general stress system among Gram-positive bacteria. Second, a phylogenetic comparison of regulatory systems can supplement genetic and biochemical analysis by revealing conserved features that are critical for function. We report here that (1) B. licheniformis cells contain a protein that closely resembles B. subtilis sigma B in size and antigenic properties; (2) the level of this potential sigma B homologue rapidly increases following environmental or energy stress; and (3) the B. licheniformis genome encodes a homologue of the sigB general stress operon, including the sigma B structural gene and seven rsb regulatory genes. Based on these results, B. licheniformis possesses a general stress system likely regulated by two coupled partner switching modules that sense and integrate the two broad classes of activating stress signals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, University of California, Davis 95616, USA.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Brody
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Price
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001407:Bacillus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D001483:Base Sequence; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D003429:Cross Reactions; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D009876:Operon; D010749:Phosphoprotein Phosphatases / Q000235:genetics; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012808:Sigma Factor / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013045:Species Specificity; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; C079011:SigB protein, Bacteria; D012808:Sigma Factor; D014157:Transcription Factors; D010749:Phosphoprotein Phosphatases