title: Genome-wide transcriptional analysis of the phosphate starvation stimulon of Bacillus subtilis.
abstract: Bacillus subtilis responds to phosphate starvation stress by inducing the PhoP and SigB regulons. While the PhoP regulon provides a specific response to phosphate starvation stress, maximizing the acquisition of phosphate (P(i)) from the environment and reducing the cellular requirement for this essential nutrient, the SigB regulon provides nonspecific resistance to stress by protecting essential cellular components, such as DNA and membranes. We have characterized the phosphate starvation stress response of B. subtilis at a genome-wide level using DNA macroarrays. A combination of outlier and cluster analyses identified putative new members of the PhoP regulon, namely, yfkN (2',3' cyclic nucleotide 2'-phosphodiesterase), yurI (RNase), yjdB (unknown), and vpr (extracellular serine protease). YurI is thought to be responsible for the nonspecific degradation of RNA, while the activity of YfkN on various nucleotide phosphates suggests that it could act on substrates liberated by YurI, which produces 3' or 5' phosphoribonucleotides. The putative new PhoP regulon members are either known or predicted to be secreted and are likely to be important for the recovery of inorganic phosphate from a variety of organic sources of phosphate in the environment.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
authors.forename: Nicholas E E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Allenby
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: Zoltán
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Prágai
authors.forename: Alan C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.forename: Anil
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wipat
authors.forename: Colin R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Harwood
mesh_terms: D015087:2',3'-Cyclic-Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D009154:Mutation; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D010710:Phosphates; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012260:Ribonucleases / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D012808:Sigma Factor / Q000235:genetics; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D010710:Phosphates; C079011:SigB protein, Bacteria; D012808:Sigma Factor; D014157:Transcription Factors; C061279:PhoR protein, Bacteria; C061064:PhoP protein, Bacteria; D012260:Ribonucleases; D015087:2',3'-Cyclic-Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases