The essential YycFG two-component system controls cell wall metabolism in Bacillus subtilis.
Adaptation of bacteria to the prevailing environmental and nutritional conditions is often mediated by two-component signal transduction systems (TCS). The Bacillus subtilis YycFG TCS has attracted special attention as it is essential for viability and its regulon is poorly defined. Here we show that YycFG is a regulator of cell wall metabolism. We have identified five new members of the YycFG regulon: YycF activates expression of yvcE, lytE and ydjM and represses expression of yoeB and yjeA. YvcE(CwlO) and LytE encode endopeptidase-type autolysins that participate in peptidoglycan synthesis and turnover respectively. We show that a yvcE lytE double mutant strain is not viable and that cells lacking LytE and depleted for YvcE exhibit defects in lateral cell wall synthesis and cell elongation. YjeA encodes a peptidoglycan deacetylase that modifies peptidoglycan thereby altering its susceptibility to lysozyme digestion and YdjM is also predicted to have a role in cell wall metabolism. A genetic analysis shows that YycFG essentiality is polygenic in nature, being a manifestation of disrupted cell wall metabolism caused by aberrant expression of a number of YycFG regulon genes.
Bisicchia
Paola
P
Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Noone
David
D
Lioliou
Efthimia
E
Howell
Alistair
A
Quigley
Sarah
S
Jensen
Thomas
T
Jarmer
Hanne
H
Devine
Kevin M
KM
D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000378:metabolism*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D015398:Signal Transduction
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C119939:YycF protein, Bacteria