title: An antibiotic-inducible cell wall-associated protein that protects Bacillus subtilis from autolysis.
abstract: In Bacillus subtilis, antibiotics that impair cell wall synthesis induce a characteristic stress response including the sigma(W) and sigma(M) regulons and the previously uncharacterized yoeB gene. Here we demonstrate that YoeB is a cell wall-associated protein with weak sequence similarity to a noncatalytic domain of class B penicillin-binding proteins. A yoeB-null mutant exhibits an increased rate of autolysis in response to cell wall-targeting antibiotics or nutrient depletion. This phenotype does not appear to be correlated with gross alterations in peptidoglycan structure or levels of autolysins. Promoter dissection experiments define a minimal region necessary for antibiotic-mediated induction of yoeB, and this region is highly conserved preceding yoeB homologs in close relatives of B. subtilis. These results support a model in which induction of YoeB in response to cell envelope stress decreases the activity of autolysins and thereby reduces the rate of antibiotic-dependent cell death.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, 370 Wing Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Letal I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Salzberg
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Helmann
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001414:Bacitracin / Q000494:pharmacology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001433:Bacteriolysis / Q000187:drug effects*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000378:metabolism*; D002511:Cephalosporins / Q000494:pharmacology; D003523:Cycloserine / Q000494:pharmacology; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005578:Fosfomycin / Q000494:pharmacology; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D009238:N-Acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine Amidase / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013385:Succinate Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors; D014640:Vancomycin / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D002511:Cephalosporins; C523231:yoeB protein, Bacillus subtilis; D001414:Bacitracin; D005578:Fosfomycin; D014640:Vancomycin; D003523:Cycloserine; D013385:Succinate Dehydrogenase; D009238:N-Acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine Amidase